ABBEY National became the latest group to cut payouts on long-term savings policies, with some bonuses scrapped altogether.
The group announced that from March, annual bonuses on with-profits policies would be between zero and four per cent, and terminal bonuses on unitised policies would be in the range of zero and 17.5 per cent.
The group blamed the decision on three years of stock market falls, and added that it had reduced its holding in equities to just more than 40 per cent of its assets.
The move will affect about one million customers of Abbey National Life, Scottish Mutual and Scottish Provident who have either a with-profits policy or the insurance component of an ISA.
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