Who'll be our 基準 持参人払いの?

By Richard Dyson
Updated: 05:00 BST, 23 April 2006

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STANDARD Life's 2.4m policyholders are starting to receive letters telling them how many windfall 株 they will get if the 保険会社's 提案するd summer 株式市場 flotation takes place. With the 普通の／平均（する） windfall 概算の at £1,700, there is a strong incentive for members to 投票（する） in favo ur of the float. But what will demutualisation mean for the 未来 of with-利益（をあげる）s 投資 計画（する）s, many of which have years left to run?

基準 Life's 社債, 年金 and endowment policyholders have 苦しむd 落ちるing returns for many years. The last time they 投票（する）d on whether to demutualise was in June 2000, when bosses begged to keep the 会社／堅い 相互の. 支援する then, the with-利益（をあげる）s 商売／仕事 was healthy.

Now, it is a discredited type of saving. Many big 保険会社s have moved away from them or even, in the 事例／患者 of 王室の & SunAlliance, for instance, sold off their with-利益（をあげる）s 商売／仕事.

If 基準 Life demutualises, as the board now 提案するs, its with-利益（をあげる）s policyholders will lose their 会員の地位 status and become 株主s. In practice, nothing will change. Their 政策s will continue to run and the 賞与金s will be collected as normal.

But the new 商売／仕事, によれば 長，指導者 (n)役員／(a)執行力のある Sandy Crombie, will place greater 強調 on growing in new areas such as 基金 管理／経営 and through its Asian and European 子会社s.

This may be good for 株主s, 含むing policyholders who 保持する their 株, but what of the prospects for with-利益（をあげる）s savers - many of whom are tied into the 計画（する）s for a １０年間 or more?

At last week's 明かすing of the demutualisation 提案s, which this time are 存在 supported by the board, Crombie was at 苦痛s to tell policyholders that the with-利益（をあげる）s 基金 would be 安全な. But many policyholders, even those committed to 投票（する）ing for the flotation, are 懐疑的な.

One is Philip Needham, 63, a retired salesman from Quorn, Leicestershire.

In 2000, he 投票（する）d for demutualisation and was 激しく disappointed that fellow policyholders did not do the same.

He reckoned that his windfall then would have been 価値（がある） の近くに to £20,000. This time, it will be a fraction of that sum. His with-利益（をあげる）s 年金, 一方／合間, has 低迷d in value by more than 30% between its valuations in 2001 and 2005.

WE want to know policyholders' 意向s regarding demutualisation and their 態度s to the 保険会社. Please fill in our quick online questionnaire.

'My real worry is that we're getting no 保証（人）s,' he says. 'I 恐れる that once 基準 becomes a plc, its bosses will do what they like with the 基金. Their 義務s won't be to policyholders, but to 株主s. At the moment, we are central to the 商売／仕事, we own it. But that will change with demutualisation.'

Crombie has tried to 静める these 恐れるs. He has said that after the company demutualises, £500m of 資本／首都 will be （ーのために）とっておくd to 支える the with-利益（をあげる）s 基金. He also （人命などを）奪う，主張するs that the 基金 and its 資産s will be ringfenced in 未来.

The 特別手当 政策 will be 不変の and a with-利益（をあげる）s 委員会 --含むing an 独立した・無所属 chairman yet to be 任命するd - will be 設立するd to 確実にする that the 基金 continues to follow 指導基準s 始める，決める 負かす／撃墜する in the 基金s' 原則s of 管理／経営.

These are known as PPFM, and are published by all with-利益（をあげる）s 会社／堅いs. What is more, says Crombie, the 提案s have been given the go-ahead by 独立した・無所属 actuary マイク Arnold and the 財政上の Services 当局.

But this does not 安心させる Philip Needham. 'Of course, I'll 投票（する） for demutualisation because that gives me something of 有形の value,' he says. 'But all I want is for my 年金 基金 to have the greatest possible value. All I know for sure is that as policyholders, we'll no longer own the whole 商売／仕事.'

WHAT VOTERS NEED TO KNOW AND DO

FINANCIAL Mail 勧めるs all 適格の policyholders - that is those who have with-利益（をあげる） 計画（する）s taken out bef 鉱石 March 30, 2004 - to 投票（する）, and to support demutualisation as the only viable 未来 for 基準 Life.

They should make sure that 郵便の 投票（する）s are returned to the 保険会社 before the 最終期限 on May 28. For those able to …に出席する, the special general 会合 is on May 31 in Edinburgh. The result of the 投票（する） will be 解放（する）d at 5pm that day.

For the demutualisation to happen, 75% of members who 投票（する） must 投票（する） in favour. Where 政策s are 共同で owned, say by spouses, only the first-指名するd person gets the 投票（する）. One member gets one 投票（する）, 関わりなく the number of 政策s held.

The 投票（する）ing form is 大（公）使館員d to the 株 配分 letter, 明言する／公表するing the number of 株 the policyholder stands to receive if the flotation goes ahead. It must be 調印するd and 時代遅れの.

基準 Life has 始める，決める up a 投票（する）ing helpline on 0845 275 3000.