Victims of the near-collapse of insurer Equitable Life look set for a more generous payout than expected.
Chancellor George Osborne will use Wednesday's Comprehensive Spending Review to announce compensation amounting to around £1.5 billion to policyholders who lost pensions and savings, according to the Daily Mail.
The sum is more than three times the maximum £400-£500 million payment recommended by former Appeal court judge Sir John Chadwick, who was appointed by the last government to determine compensation.
More than one million policyholders lost out when Equitable Life came close to going bust in 2000 and they have fought over the past decade for recompense.
Many have died waiting for compensation and it is understood their relatives will benefit from the payout to be announced next week.
According to the Mail, Mr Osborne will announce up-front payments of around £1 billion in next week's spending review, while a further £500 million will be made available in annual payments to with-profit annuity holders until their death.
Liz Kwantes, of the Equitable Life Members Support Group, said that policy-holders had not yet been informed of any compensation settlement.
And she said that, even if the £1.5 billion figure was confirmed, it would fall well short of the £4 billion-plus lost by Equitable Life customers. The sum proposed by Sir John Chadwick had been "derisory", she said.
Ms Kwantes told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are still being asked for a cut of nearly 70%, which is a lot more than anybody else is being asked to make.
"It was absolutely laughable, the derisory amount they offered originally. I don't know if they believed anybody would accept what they were suggesting."
