The price of going into extra time

I have an annual insurance policy with Columbus with a 31-day limit on any one trip. Since buying it, I decided to travel to Japan for the World Cup and, depending on the results, may be there for five weeks.

I asked Columbus if I could extend the time by paying extra. Initially Columbus said my only option was to take out an additional single-trip policy for about £60. The next day they said I could extend the policy for £37. Would other insurers do the same?
PH, London

Columbus told me what it first told you - but it quoted only £23 for a single-trip policy, well below your quote and less than it is charging you to extend. It called this the 'cheapest possible' price, so perhaps you could have negotiated. Norwich Union makes you buy a single-trip policy, but some other insurers do allow changes to annual policies.

Egg lets you extend its policy but charges half as much again. Direct Travel says you could upgrade for a 45-day stay, but it is cheaper to buy an additional single policy at £15 for five days. JLT says you can extend to 45 days for an extra £20, but recommends doing this before you leave because, if you make a claim during the first 30 days, you lose this right.

What to do with our £6,000?

We have been offered £6,000 compensation through the Ombudsman for endowment mortgage mis-selling. What should we do with the money?
GW, London

It depends how you feel about risk and what you can afford. If you keep an interest-only mortgage, you risk not having enough from the endowment to pay the debt when due. To avoid this, switch to a repayment loan, although the repayments will be higher as you have less time to repay.

Converting to a repayment loan gives security; keeping the endowments to maturity gives the best return and maintains the life insurance. If you keep the compensation in cash Isas you can use it as you wish, but earn less interest than you pay out. Or you could just use some or all of the compensation to reduce the debt.

I want to retire - but what has happened to my pension?

My employer was bought out and the company's
final-salary pension scheme closed in 1999. I have
tried without success to get a value for my
pension fund. As the scheme had only three
members, I find the situation incredible. I am 59,
unemployed and want to take early retirement.
DM, Hatfield

Such a small scheme should be wound up faster,
although it probably involves ex-members as well as
the current three.

Des Hamilton of the Occupational Pensions Advisory
Services (Opas) has promised to investigate. His
address is: 11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB.

When another reader's company was taken over, the
new owners wanted to wind up the final-salary pension
scheme, switching all the money into its own
money-purchase scheme.

The senior employees objected, and it agreed to put
only new contributions into the money-purchase fund.
Unfortunately, workers cannot stop the employer
reverting to its first plan if it is determined to push this
forward in future.

Under present legislation, employees face the danger
that they might not receive the benefits they had been
promised under their original preserved pension.

The trustees must provide a transfer value, but no law
dictates how much this must be. Worse, if the
employer goes bust, the scheme could become
insolvent.

Anyone who suspects that their employer or
employment is not secure should consider transferring
their pensions out now - but only after taking financial
advice.

· Email Margaret Dibben at money.writes@observer.co.uk or write to Margaret Dibben, Money Writes, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER and include a telephone number. Do not enclose SAEs or original documents. Letters are selected for publication and we cannot give personal replies. The newspaper accepts no legal responsibility for advice.