Aegon has announced that the deferment will apply only to requests for policy surrenders, requests for transfers and switches out of property funds. Payments relating to regular income have already being paid, retirements and death claims will not be affected.
The length of the deferment will depend on the relevant policy terms and conditions but will not exceed 12 months. This means customers wishing to cash in their policy or move out of the property funds at any time from January 17, 2007, may be required to wait for up to 12 months from the date of instruction before their transaction will be processed, depending on their policy.
The Scottish Equitable Property Fund is currently managed by Morley Fund Management. Aegon UK has decided to take this step to protect investors following a significant level of customer withdrawals from the UK property fund market.
