10-year schemes come through

PEOPLE who invested in 10- year savings schemes in March 1984 to beat the abolition of life insurance premium relief will be wondering, as the cheques drop through their letterboxes, whether they made the right move.

Figures about to be published in the specialist magazine Planned Savings suggest they did - just.

Most of the companies that have declared the 1994 terminal bonuses on their 10-year funds will be paying out about pounds 6,500 on a pounds 30 monthly investment, an annual return of 14.5 per cent. That compares with pounds 6,957 for the sector average of UK equity unit trusts where, however, investors would have had to pay the full pounds 30 a month instead of pounds 26.50 for those who beat the LAPR deadline.

By comparison, the average 10-year, unit-linked policy grew to pounds 5,785, an annual return of 12.3 per cent.

Investors in Family Assurance friendly society's tax free Family Bond would have seen net annual premiums of pounds 2,287 over 10 years grow to pounds 4,390, a net return of 11.6 per cent.