Are endowment mortgages paying up?

[inkyfingers]

We've got 7 years to run on a 20yr endowment. Had green, then amber, then red letters. Shortfall is about £9000 iirc. We are likely to change to repayment anyway and actually got compensation(!!).

But I worry about that final bonus paid up (or not!) at the end. Is anyone getting the full amount at the end of the term with endowments?

When you say you worry about that final bonus, what do you mean exactly? TBH endowments and their performance are related to the type of plan they are (with profit, unit linked etc) and who is running it (an active fun or one that is closed). They often have other products bundled in with them (critical illnesss cover, life assurance) and so value wise it's not always clear what you are getting.

*fund even!

We are just about to receive the first of our 25 year endowments and there is a shortfall of just under 25% Unfortunately when we should have applied for compensation we were just too busy / didn't get round to it so we just have to take the money out of savings - expensive oversight.

Have you asked them what you would get if you cashed it in now? If you say that you are paying off your mortgage they will give you a figure that is valid for a month or so. We did this about 5 years ago and the offer left only a £4000 shortfall but included a final bonus of £7000 which we were pleased with. After working out what it would cost us every month in payments for the following 5 years it was cheaper to take their offer.