Money: loose change

Sun Life of Canada is offering readers a free copy of its Guide to Self-Assessment, which contains easy-to-understand answers to the questions raised by tax self-assessment. It is also offering clients a a telephone- based service which converts tax details into a tax return and a computation of tax due. It costs pounds 75 plus VAT for a single person, pounds 99 plus VAT for a married couple and is available to employed people and pensioners resident in the UK, but not to the self-employed, expats or Lloyd's underwriters!

ScotLife Home Loans with Birmingham & Midshires is offering a discount of 4.24 per cent on the standard variable rate (currently x,xx per cent) fixed until the end of January next year, and a 1 per cent discount for the following 12 months. It also pays pounds 330 towards legal fees and the survey fee is refunded when the mortgage takes effect.

General Accident Life and West Bromwich Building Society are offering a 3 per cent discount to the current variable rate of 7.25 per cent for the first 12 months plus a 3 per cent cashback up to a maximum of pounds 3,000. Life assurance may be necessary but there is no arrangement fee, and loans up to 90 per cent of valuation are available. Early redemption penalty is 6 per cent in the first six years and one month's interest thereafter.

Sun Life is planning to scrap terminal bonuses on group pension plans and replace them with higher reversionary - ie annual - bonuses in an attempt to provide greater fairness for workers who leave early.