What does the potential transfer of Police Mutual to Royal London mean for Metfriendly members?
A number of members have been in touch in recent weeks asking about the potential transfer of Police Mutual to Royal London and what it means for Metfriendly and we had several questions about it at our recent AGM.
It is important to state that we have no intention of merging or transferring Metfriendly over to anyone. We are in a good financial position as a business and have no need to take such steps.
In these uncertain times it is important to remember the benefits of being a member of Metfriendly and some of our recent highlights:
- Metfriendly is solely Police focused and member owned, standing side by side with the Metropolitan Police since 1893; we have no intention of changing that.
- Your family members can apply too and take advantage of our offers. These offers may include guaranteed annual bonus rates and promotional bonuses for lump sum investments.
- Metfriendly is financially strong and focuses on maintaining levels of solvency to deliver a sustainable future for the organisation. Our current levels of solvency are 274% of minimum levels, which is significantly higher than required by regulators.
- Our investment strategy is delivered in a compliant and financially responsible manner. The impact of our new investment strategy in 2019 resulted in the Metfriendly With-Profits Fund returning a healthy 9.2% growth for the year. We invest the with profits fund in a diversified portfolio of assets which includes bonds, a multi asset fund and property funds. This is how we balance safety and returns on your money. The investment return is passed on to you by way of annual and final bonuses added to your policy. We use "smoothing" which aims to smooth out ups and downs in markets in order to provide consistent, competitive returns.
- Metfriendly has always focused on the needs of the Police Family primarily in the London area and delivers products and services to help support our members. This includes understanding the specific challenges of living and working in the South East of England. A good example of this is the launch of the Lifetime ISA, which is aimed at helping members to buy a home with the help of additional Government contributions.
- Responding to member feedback, we launched a new simplified Monthly Savings ISA to take the hassle out of saving which comes with the option for you to pay in directly from your salary.
- We are proud sponsors of the Met Police Choir and Rugby Club and support retired police dogs and their handlers (the London Retired Police Dogs Trust).
- We continue to remember our fallen colleagues through sponsorship of the Memorial Flame at Hendon and our active fund raising for National Police Memorial Day.
- Our range of products can enable you to bring all your investments together in one place to make life simpler. It also means your money receives unlimited protection through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) as opposed to the £85,000 limit you may get from a high street bank or similar provider. Talk to us if you would like to transfer an ISA from another provider.
Rest assured that the Board at Metfriendly is focused on ensuring that we continue to have the needs of serving and retired Police families at the heart of everything we do. Metfriendly will continue to deliver a financially strong sustainable business focused on the needs of its current and future members.
If you'd like to speak to us about the products and services we offer, leave your details here and we’ll arrange for someone to call you back at a time convenient for you.
Alternatively if you would like to talk to us in more detail about your financial circumstances, you can book a one-to-one consultation.
