The month’s cover feature focused on long-term care, still an important subject today. The survey looked into the government’s plan for personal care, when its threshold was around £18,000 – a lifetime cap currently sits at £72,000. The feature highlights the fact that people will not buy insurance until it is significantly cheaper, which is still an issue 15 years on.
An area still difficult to sell, long-term care now also requires a separate qualification for advisers. This was not legislation in 2000, but the magazine states the potential amendment to the Financial Services and Market Bill to include long-term care advice within the remit of the FSA.
A Money Management favourite, a survey of with-profit charges was in this edition, looking into the industry and how life offices treat investments. The survey showed virtually all policies made losses on surrender at in the third year (and there were negative returns after 10 years).
Additionally in the magazine, the news showed the government was preparing to introduce a socially responsible investment regulation, requiring company pension schemes to explain in their annual reports what they are doing to address SRI policies. Keep an eye out for the October edition of Money Management where we look more into socially responsible investing.
And annuity rates for single life level guaranteed for five years for a male aged 60 was £801.72 from Legal and General (based on purchase price £10,000) and for females, £724.56. At the moment, this stands around £5,178.
Elsewhere…
Mariah Carey’s cover (featuring Westlife) of the Phil Collins classic ‘Against All Odds’ was the number one single in the charts that month
Mission: Impossible II was topping the film charts
Fuel protestors blocked the streets across the UK over the hike in the cost of petrol. Back then, drivers were paying just 80p for unleaded and 80.8p for diesel.
