Do
you have an under-performing with-profits endowment policy?
If you have
received a letter from your insurance company to say that your policy might not
have sufficient funds to repay your mortgage at maturity, as many people have,
independent advice is recommended before taking any action.
But both the borrower and the adviser could consider the following
points: -
1. Identify the size of the problem – what is the likely shortfall at the
end of the term?
2. If you intend to move before the mortgage ends, you could simply do
nothing, since the house sale will repay the mortgage.
Your next mortgage can then be a different type.
3. Surrendering the policy early is not a good idea as the value-for-money
is poor; if you really have to, selling the policy will produce a higher
figure using one of the many specialist agents.
4. Increasing the premiums may be a bad idea as you are simply compounding
the problem, depending on the projected performance from today.
But ask what the realistic growth rate of the policy from now on would be
(as a % pa after tax and charges
or better still, an IRR). If you really believe this might out-perform your projected mortgage
rate, it may then be worth increasing the premium.
5. Switching the policy to a better
performing scheme such as a unit-linked endowment or an ISA may improve the performance
albeit at an increased risk.
6. Converting your mortgage to a
repayment is probably possible, but the monthly costs will inevitably rise.
Converting it in full would immediately take away any risk.
The endowment policy, regardless of the maturity value, then becomes a
separate savings scheme and life insurance policy.
7. You may consider a part repayment
and part endowment mortgage – effectively only converting the shortfall
into a repayment mortgage. This is
probably the cheapest option but you still need to be sure that the policy will
still perform for the reduced endowment part.
8. In either of the last two options, consider extending the term of the
repayment mortgage part.
The
future
In the year 2000 it seems we are set
for lowish inflation for the foreseeable future, possibly lower interest rates
as well, and house prices rising. There
has already been a mini housing boom, which may well be followed by a minor
downward correction in some regions, mirroring what happened a decade previously
but hopefully not so sharp.
There is now no longer any tax relief at all on residential mortgage interest, unless it is used to buy an investment property, when it can be offset against rental income. Any investment used alongside an interest-only mortgage must now make a net return of more than the gross cost of borrowing – a harder target. But if the investment fund is itself tax exempt, there is a much better chance of the arrangement working. However, as we have proved, it cannot be a “safe” investment, since by definition, it is designed not to beat gross mortgage interest.
The
Individual Savings Account - ISA
There are two main investment products that currently remain tax privileged.
One is a pension scheme and the other is an ISA.
The ISA is the most flexible, and you can choose a range of equities to
invest into. For those with an
attitude that accepts risk as part of life, the combination of tax exemption and
the ability to speculate over the long term in stocks and shares to maximise
growth, makes the ISA (and its forerunner, the PEP) ideal as a mortgage
repayment vehicle.
In the past, equity based funds (eg stocks and shares) have always had the best chance of good performance in the longer term – this is exactly matches the sort of term one needs to save to repay a mortgage. Although you may move house and even switch lenders, you can still use the same, growing ISA each move, increasing the contribution where you can, subject to the government imposed maximum.
If for some reason the theory changes, say the government re-imposes tax on the underlying funds, as they did with pension funds, you can simply cash in the investment, revert to a repayment mortgage and knock off some of the outstanding debt at the same time.
Often, retirement means you buy a cheaper house to release funds to augment income, so a restructuring at that point is inevitable. When you get near to retirement, you can switch the ISA funds to something less risky. If the worse comes to the worse and you retire when the funds are right down, you can apply to extend your loan or convert it to a repayment mortgage.
Of course, if you can afford it, you can have a repayment mortgage and an ISA as well. This may mean belt and braces and a lower overall gain but a significantly lower risk; at least the mortgage will be repaid and it is only the profit on the ISA which is dependent on performance. Another compromise is a repayment mortgage but a more modest contribution into the ISA.
The simple spreadsheet “Investment and Mortgage Calculator” provides a guide as to what sort of contribution is needed to repay a loan at any time in future, given your own estimate of growth rates. It is important to remember that past investment performance measured over a period of inflation (like the last 25 years performance of an endowment policy) is totally irrelevant when projecting over a more modest inflationary period.
Life
Insurance
Unit-linked
endowment policies do have certain aspects going for them.
Unlike conventional with-profits endowments, they invest directly in a
chosen range of equities – an even more extensive choice of speculative
equities and property funds than an ISA. These
life insurance funds are taxed at only standard rates and are therefore tax
privileged for the higher rate taxpayer. Also
the life insurance is built in – if you died during the mortgage term, the
mortgage is paid off.
If you took
out a repayment mortgage and needed the same protection against premature death,
you would need to take out a separate policy, albeit a cheap term policy.
Depending on your age and habits, this might add costs the equivalent of
around a half to one percent pa of the loan. The life insurance costs within an
endowment policy are lower than for a separate term policy.
One reason for this is that the amount actually “at risk” is falling
as the investment builds up. There
is no such reserve in a term policy, and the running expenses of even a
“cheap” policy are little different to the expensive, but perhaps better
value for money, endowment policy.
For the
avoidance of doubt, I am referring here to unit-linked endowments as opposed to the classic with-profits endowment
policies. While with-profits policies are
capable of producing reasonable returns, their conservative investment strategy
means they have a lower chance of beating the mortgage rate than a unit linked
investment. That is not to say they
won’t, as much of their fund is equity and property based and the returns
usually beat deposits and life insurance is included. But ironically, because you need to speculate a bit more to
validate the interest-only mortgage concept, the “with profits” policy might
be just too secure.
Pension
schemes
Pension
funds linked to equities and property are more likely to out-perform mortgage
rates in the long term because of the tax-breaks they enjoy.
The higher your marginal tax rate, the better deal they become, since the
state provides tax-relief on your contribution.
Moreover, there is no internal tax to pay apart from dividend income and
then only at standard rates. A good
proportion of the fund is also available as a tax-free lump sum.
But the
prime object of a pension scheme is to provide income in retirement.
It cannot do two jobs – pay off your mortgage and provide a pension
without one or the other suffering as a result.
While in theory a pension lump sum is mathematically likely to be a
better deal when used to repay a mortgage, in practice the ISA is far more
flexible, as you can get hold of the cash at any time.
This decision may well be a matter of personal choice.
Term
Remember
that the monthly cost of a capital repayment mortgage depends on the initial
maximum term agreed with the lender – the longer the term, the lower the
repayment. But the “life” of the
loan may well be much less as few borrowers
stick to the same initial mortgage for the whole term. However most
borrowers cannot afford the higher payments required by a shorter term, which is why most terms are over
20 years, even 35 years in some cases, although the actual life is nearer five or six
years.
The monthly
interest costs for an interest-only mortgage are the same regardless of the
term. But the savings scheme is
term dependent – the longer the term, the lower the monthly savings required.
Since
those borrowers selecting a repayment mortgage expect to pay it off as soon as
possible, they should pick the shortest term they can afford, whereas
interest-only borrowers expect to profit from the mortgage, so they would want
the largest, longest mortgage.
Interest-only
summary
In
summary, your attitude to investment risk will dictate whether or not you should
take an interest-only mortgage. The
method can produce better value than a repayment mortgage but only if you are
prepared to take a risk. The risk
is lessened if you invest long term and in tax privileged funds, but you cannot
pursue a conservative strategy. An
ISA, a unit-linked endowment, and possibly a pension fund, all equity linked,
would all be suitable candidates. But
you really should know what you are doing and professional advice for the
amateur is essential, at least in the early days.
If you do decide to go for an interest-only loan, you might as well make the term for as long as possible – perhaps up to your retirement date. If you are going to make some extra money on the investment you need the largest, longest loan you can get. On the other hand, a repayment mortgage is best repaid over as short a time as you can comfortably afford.