ENDOWMENT PLAN

Reader's Digest 10月号の特集記事INVESTING 101からの抜粋です。
Endowment plans are primarily used as a saving plan, for example, when parents want to save money for their children's university education. With endowment plans, the sum assured of death benefit is secondary and often mimimal endowment plans have a fixed time period, after which the insurance company returns your premiums plus some interest. .
"endowment plans" は上の記事にもあるように貯蓄あるいは保険の一種です。　辞書にも説明があるか調べます。
"endowment plans" で掲載している辞書は見あたりませんでしたが、"endowment policy", "endowment insurance", "endowment life policy", "endowment life insurance" で次ぎの様な説明がありました。
"endowment policy": a life assurance savings scheme designed to pay out a lump sum when the policy matures,
"endowment insurance": life insurance for a specified amount which is payable to the insured person at the expiration of a certain period of time or to a designated beneficiary immediately upon the death of the insured
"endowment life policy": Alternative term for endowment policy
"endowment life insurance": A life insurance policy that provides benefits for a specified period (for example, 20 years or until age 65) and that may be redeemed at face value if the insured is alive at the end of the specified period. Thus, payment is made regardless of whether the insured lives or dies, although the cost of the policy is quite high compared with other types of life insurance.
何れも一定期間の満期に達するか中途で死亡した場合に一定の金額が支払う保険でした。記事の "endowment plans" と同じ種類の保険でしょう。