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                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.8

                           LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PLAN

                                      FOR

                               SENIOR EXECUTIVES



Section 1.  PURPOSE.  To provide a long-term incentive opportunity for certain
            --------
members of senior management based on the Company's success over a period of
years.

Section 2.  ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION.  The term "Eligible Employee" shall
            ------------------------------
mean a member of the Policy Committee, a Senior Vice President or (for years
prior to January 1, 2000) Vice President, and other Senior Officers of the
Company or officers of a subsidiary selected by and on such terms as the
Chairman of the Board and the President, with the approval of the Directors'
Compensation Committee, may determine.

     An Eligible Employee participating in any Performance Cycle shall be a
Participant for purposes of that Cycle.

Section 3.  PERFORMANCE CYCLES.  There will be overlapping three-year
            -------------------
Performance Cycles.  A new Performance Cycle will commence each January 1.  Each
calendar year will be a factor in three Performance Cycles. The last Performance
Cycle under this Plan shall commence on January 1, 2000.

Section 4.  GOALS FOR PERFORMANCE CYCLES.  The Director's Compensation
            -----------------------------
Committee, in consultation with the Chairman of the Board and the President,

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shall establish a goal for each Performance Cycle as early in the first year of
such cycle as is practicable.  As soon as practicable following the end of each
Performance Cycle, the Chairman of the Board and the President will report to
the Committee on the Company's performance during such cycle and the extent to
which the goal has been attained, and, on the basis of its findings in such
respect, the Committee shall determine the amount of the liability and recommend
to the Board of Directors the appropriation described in Section 9.  In
establishing goals and determining such liability, the Committee shall, from
time to time, adopt such methods and apply such standards as it shall deem
relevant and suitable, taking into consideration both the internal needs of the
Company and the effect upon it of anticipated external developments including
the performance of its competitors.  Such methods and standards shall be
included in the principles of the Plan which the Committee shall approve.

Section 5.  EQUITY RIGHTS.
            --------------

A.  At the commencement of each Performance Cycle, Participant will be awarded
    Equity Rights. The number of Equity Rights awarded to each Participant shall
    be determined by dividing his or her Target Award by 100.

B.  Employees who first become eligible to participate during a Performance
    Cycle may be granted Equity Rights which are prorated according to the
    number of months left in the Performance Cycle. Participants who are
    promoted during a Performance Cycle may be granted additional Equity Rights
    which are prorated according to the number of months left in the Performance
    Cycle.

C.  In the event that the goal described in Section 4 is exactly met at the end
    of any Performance Cycle, each Equity Right will be worth $100.00. The
    maximum value of an Equity Right at the end of any Performance Cycle shall
    be $300.00. If the Value of the Equity Right is zero at the end of any
    Performance Cycle, all Equity Rights will be eliminated for that Performance
    Cycle.

D.  At the end of a Performance Cycle, the value of an Equity Right between zero
    and $300.00 will be determined on a leveraged basis in accordance with the
    principles of the Plan.

E.  Effective as of the calendar year beginning January 1, 2001, no additional
    Equity Rights shall be awarded under the Plan. For Equity Rights awarded
    prior to January 1, 2000 for which a Performance Cycle is not yet completed
    as of that date, and for the Equity Rights awarded for the calendar year
    2000, the value of the Equity Rights as of January 1, 2000 shall be adjusted
    for the remainder of the Performance Cycle based on the goals established by
    the Compensation Committee for the years beginning on or after January 1,
    2000, such goals to be based on measurements related to the Company's return
    on equity and the earning per share of the Company's stock, as determined by
    the Compensation Committee.

Section 6.  TARGET AWARD.
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A.  The Target Award for each Participant for a Performance Cycle shall be the
    Participant's salary as of the first pay period in the first year of each
    Performance Cycle multiplied by that percentage determined by the Directors'
    Compensation Committee.

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B.  The Target Award which shall be determined for each Participant may be zero
    or more, but in general shall be based on the following guideline percentage
    of a Participant's salary:


    Chairman of the Board and President    100%

    Vice Chairman                           85%

    Other Policy Committee Members          70%

    Senior Vice President                   50 - 70%

    Vice President                          20 - 45%

    Second Vice Presidents and Other        0 - 30%, (as determined by
    Eligible Employees                      the Chairman of the Board and
                                            President)

C.   Notwithstanding the above or other provisions of the Plan, the Board of
     Directors, for members of the Policy Committee, and the Compensation
     Committee, for all other eligible Participants, may, in its discretion,
     establish Special Target Awards, on a case by case basis, for specified
     individuals for a particular Performance Cycle. The Equity Rights
     associated with these Special Target Awards shall vest at the end of the
     third Vesting Date described in Section 7.A. and shall be surrendered and
     become payable, subject to the elections under Sections 7.C. and 8, no
     later than the next March 15, or the next business day if March 15 falls on
     a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. For Special Target Awards awarded to
     individuals who were within 5 years of their normal retirement date on June
     8, 1998, a Performance Cycle in progress at the time of the individual's
     normal retirement under the Company's pension plan shall continue to it's
     normal completion and payments of the Equity Rights associated with these
     Special Target Awards shall be surrendered and become payable, subject to
     the elections under Sections 7.C. and 8, no later than the next March 15
     following the end of the Performance Cycle on the Participant's date of
     retirement. The special Target Awards and rules established under this
     subparagraph shall be in lieu of a participant's general Target Awards
     under the Plan.


Section 7.  VESTING, SURRENDER AND DEFERRAL OF EQUITY RIGHTS.
            -------------------------------------------------

A.  Vesting.  The Vesting Date for each year shall be January 1.  Except as
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    otherwise provided herein, Equity Rights for each Performance Cycle shall
    vest in three installments commencing upon the completion of the
    Performance Cycle. One-third shall vest on the Vesting Date next following
    the end of the Performance Cycle, and one-third shall vest on each of the
    two succeeding Vesting Dates.

    Effective as of January 1, 2000, the value of all unvested Equity Rights
    shall be invested in deferred share units which shall be equal in value to
    the amount of unvested Equity Rights awarded for those Performance Cycles.
    The value of each deferred share unit shall be deemed to be equal to the
    value one share of stock of the Company.

B.  Surrender.  Equity Rights not subject to an election under paragraph C of
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    this section or Section 8 shall be deemed surrendered on the Vesting Date,
    and payment therefore shall be made in cash no later than the next March 15,
    or the next business day if March 15 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or
    holiday.

C.  Deferral.  A Participant may irrevocably elect to defer the surrender of
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    Equity Rights in order to keep such rights in the Plan until (1) a specific

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    Vesting Date not less than five years from the date of election or (2) the
    Vesting Date next following the Participant's retirement. Notwithstanding an
    election to defer the surrender of Equity Rights to a specific Vesting Date,
    the deferral period shall end as of the Vesting Date next following the
    Participant's actual retirement if earlier than the specified Vesting Date.
    An election to defer must be made, on a form and in a manner approved by the
    Company, on or before the last day of the calendar year preceding the year
    in which Equity Rights become vested. Vested Equity Rights remaining in the
    Plan will be adjusted in value as of each Vesting Date. Except as otherwise
    provided herein, Equity Rights shall be deemed surrendered on the Vesting
    Date which ends the deferral period, and payment therefor shall be made in
    cash as soon thereafter as practicable.

    If a deferral election is made in accordance with this Paragraph C, the
    Participant may elect during the calendar year preceding the year in which
    the deferral ends, one of the following methods of payment:

    1)  lump sum,

    2)  annual installments for a period specified by the Participant,
        commencing on a date selected by the Participant, provided such
        installments begin within five (5) years from the Vesting Date next
        following the election of the distribution method and terminate no later
        than twenty (20) years from said Vesting Date.

        Unless a Participant makes an election under Section 8, if a Participant
fails to make this election, payment shall be made in a lump sum as provided in
Paragraph B of this Section.

     If a Participant makes a deferral election under this Paragraph C, interest
on his deferred payments shall be added to and shall become part of the deferred
payments as of each subsequent Vesting Date in an amount equal to the product of
(1) times (2), where:

 (1) is the average annual rate of interest for that year for ten-year Treasury
     Constant Maturities: and

 (2) is the balance of deferred payments on the December 31st prior to the next
     Vesting Date.

Notwithstanding the above paragraph, effective as of January 1, 2000, (or for
members of the Policy Committee, January 1, 2001), a Participant may elect (in
increments of 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100%) to invest his deferred payments in the
form of deferred share units of the Company. For deferred payments from years
prior to 2000, this shall be a one-time election. The number of deferred share
units provided to each Participant electing under this paragraph shall be equal
in value to the amount of his deferred payments. The value of each deferred
share unit shall be deemed to be equal to the value one share of stock of the
Company.

SECTION 8.  Election to Receive Stock of JHFS
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            A. Effective as of January 1, 2000 (January 1, 2001 for members of
               the Policy Committee), Participants may elect to receive up to
               50% (in increments of 25% or 50%) of any payments under this Plan
               in the form of shares of the common stock of the Company ("JHFS
               Stock"). If this election is made, the Company will purchase JHFS
               Stock on behalf of the electing Participant and the purchase of
               JHFS Stock pursuant to this election will be in lieu of 25% or
               50%, as applicable, of the cash Award for an Eligible Employee
               under the Plan. The JHFS Stock purchased on behalf of a
               Participant under this section may be subject to such
               restrictions as determined by the Compensation Committee, in its
               discretion.

               For the calendar year 2000 only, for Participants who elected to
               defer payments of benefits under Paragraph C of Section 7, if
               such Participants elect to receive JHFS Stock under this section,
               the amount of JHFS Stock to be received will be based on 25% or
               50%, as applicable, of the total amount that would have been paid
               to the Participant, without regard to the election under
               Paragraph C of Section 7 and the receipt of such JHFS Stock shall
               be deferred in accordance to the provisions of Section 7, subject
               to any addition restrictions as determined by the Compensation
               Committee.

            B. In order to induce the Participants to elect to receive JHFS
               Stock under Paragraph A of this Section, a Participant who elects
               to receive JHFS Stock pursuant to Paragraph A of this Section
               shall be provided with matching amount of JHFS Stock equal to 25%
               (50% in the years 2000 and 2001 for Participants other than
               members of the Policy Committee, and 50% in the years 2001 and
               2002 for Participants who are members of the Policy Committee) of
               the amount of JHFS Stock elected under Paragraph A of this
               Section. The additional JHFS Stock provided under this paragraph
               ("Restricted JHFS Stock") shall be provided under the terms of
               the John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. 1999 Long-Term Stock
               Incentive Plan and shall be subject to forfeiture by the
               Participant if his employment with the Company, or an affiliate,
               terminates within three years of the receipt of the Restricted
               JHFS Stock, except if such termination results from retirement
               with the Company's consent, death or disability. This restriction
               will cease to apply and any Restricted JHFS Stock subject to such
               restriction will become nonforfeitable if there is a Change in
               Control of the Company, as defined in the John Hancock Financial
               Services, Inc. Pension Plan.

SECTION 9.  Appropriations.  At its next regularly scheduled meeting following
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each date on which the valuation is published, the Board of Directors shall
appropriate a sum of money sufficient to pay for all vested Equity Rights
surrendered in that year, including those payable to retired, disabled or
terminated Participants.

SECTION 10.  Beneficiaries.  Participants may elect a beneficiary or
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beneficiaries to receive payments under the Plan in the event of the
Participant's death.  The beneficiary or beneficiaries shall be designated on a
form provided by the Company.  In the event that no beneficiary is designated,
payments shall be made to the estate of the Participant.

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SECTION 11. Retirement or Disability.  For each Performance Cycle in progress
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at a Participant's retirement under the Company's pension plan, or permanent and
total disability as determined by the Company, the Participant shall retain that
portion of the Equity Rights equal to the elapsed portion of the Performance
Cycle on the date of the retirement or disability.  The balance of the
Participant's Equity Rights for such cycles shall be forfeited.

     Upon completion of a Performance Cycle, vesting, surrender, and deferral
will occur as provided in Section 7.

SECTION 12. Death.  Upon the death of an active or retired Participant, all
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Equity Rights for completed Performance Cycles which have not previously vested
shall vest.

     For each Performance Cycle in progress at a Participant's death, that
portion of the deceased Participant's Equity Rights equal to the elapsed portion
of the Performance Cycle at the date of the death shall vest. The balance of the
deceased Participant's Equity Rights for Performance Cycles in progress shall be
forfeited. All vested Equity Rights subject to a deferral under Paragraph C of
Section 7 shall be surrendered by the Company and, along with any unpaid
installments under Paragraph D of Section 7, will be paid in a lump sum as soon
as practicable after the Participant's death.

     Vesting, where applicable, surrender and valuation of Equity Rights shall
occur on the Vesting Date next following the date of death (or on the date of
death if it is also a Vesting Date).  Payment shall be made as soon thereafter
as practicable.

SECTION 13.  HARDSHIP DISTRIBUTION PROVISIONS.  A hardship distribution may be
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paid from deferred vested Equity Rights remaining in the Plan pursuant to
Section 7 upon a finding by the Savings Plans Administrative Committee of the
Company that a Participant has incurred a Financial Hardship, as defined below.
An amount reasonably necessary to meet the Financial Hardship, up to 100% of the
value of such Equity Rights, may be paid, and the value of the deferred Vested
Equity Rights remaining in the Plan shall be appropriately reduced to reflect
the amount of any such hardship distribution.  The hardship distribution shall
be made in a lump-sum payment.  Applications for hardship distributions shall be
made in writing.  The Savings Plans Administrative Committee shall issue a
written determination with respect to such application.  Written proof of a
Financial Hardship may be requested.  The Savings Plans Administrative Committee
will determine the date of payment for a hardship distribution.

     For purposes of this section, a Financial Hardship is any unforeseen,
anticipated emergency that is caused by an event beyond the control of the
participant and that would result in severe financial hardship to the individual
if early withdrawal was not permitted.

SECTION 14.   TERMINATION.  Participants whose employment with the Company
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terminates, other than by retirement, disability or death, shall forfeit all
non-vested Equity Rights.

     All vested Equity Rights, including rights subject to a deferral under
Paragraph C of Section 7, shall be surrendered at the Vesting Date next
following termination (or on the date of termination if it is also a Vesting
Date) and payment thereafter shall be made at the valuation as of that Vesting
Date in cash as soon thereafter as practicable. If not so surrendered, the
Company reserves the right to declare them forfeited.

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SECTION 15.   OPERATION, AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION.
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A.  The Chairman of the Board and the President acting in concert shall carry
    out provisions of this Plan and are authorized to designate appropriate
    employees of the Company to act in its behalf for all purposes hereof. In
    questions involving the operation or interpretation of any provision of the
    Plan, the determination of the Company shall be final.

B.  The Chairman of the Board and the President, with the approval of the Board
    of Directors, may, in appropriate individual cases, vary the provisions of
    Sections 11, 12 and 14 to accommodate special circumstances.

C.  The Board of Directors may at any time terminate this Plan and from time to
    time amend it or vary its provisions as they apply to any class; provided
    that the establishment, determination or variation of annual goals or the
    principles of the Plan referred to in Section 4, shall not be considered an
    amendment or variation of the Plan. In addition, the Compensation Committee
    may from time to time amend this Plan or vary its provisions as they apply
    to any class below the level of the Policy Committee. Notwithstanding the
    foregoing, the termination of the Plan, any amendments thereto, or any
    variance in its provisions, goals or principles shall in no way reduce the
    number of Equity Rights in which a Participant is vested or which have been
    allocated to any participant with respect to a Performance Cycle which has
    been completed prior to the date of such termination, amendment or variance.

D.  Upon termination of the Plan, all Equity Rights for a completed Performance
    Cycle shall vest. Non-vested Equity Rights shall be forfeited. Vested Equity
    Rights must be surrendered for cash at their value on the Vesting Date next
    preceding the effective date of the Plan termination of the effective date
    if it is also a Vesting Date. The provisions of Section 8 shall apply in the
    event of a Plan termination.

E.  Equity Rights and amounts received upon surrender of Equity Rights shall be
    excluded from the base for computing benefits under, or contribution to,
    benefits plans maintained by the Company for its employees.

F.  The Plan is intended to be a non-qualified, unfunded, deferred compensation
    plan. The Company will not be required to reserve, segregate or deposit any
    funds or assets of any kind to meet the obligations hereunder. Nothing in
    this Plan will give a Participant, a Participant's beneficiary or any other
    person any equity or other interest in the assets of the Company, or create
    a trust of any kind or a fiduciary relationship of any kind between the
    Company and any such person. Any rights that a Participant, beneficiary or
    other person may have under this Plan shall not be assignable by any such
    person. Nothing contained herein shall prevent the Company, in its sole
    discretion, from establishing a trust, including a so-called rabbi trust,
    for the purpose of providing for the payment of obligations arising under
    the Plan. The assets of such trust shall remain subject to the claims of the
    Company's creditors, and no Participant shall have any interest in the
    assets of such trust. The Company shall have no further obligation with
    respect to amounts paid from any such trust.

G.  The Company may adopt any rules and procedures it deems appropriate to
    provide for the orderly and efficient administration of the Plan.

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