I and A Mag Jan20

Funeral Costs
DOES IT PAY TO
PLAN AHEAD
Sign up to a prepaid funeral plan
With a prepaid plan, you will choose the
type of funeral you want (so long as it’s
in the UK) then pay the funeral director
or plan provider either in a lump sum, or
in weekly instalments. The costs will be
frozen at today’s prices from the moment
the plan takes effect, which means the
costs won’t be subject to inflation, but
you should be aware that your plan
may not provide everything you want –
for instance, it may not cover the cost
of a burial plot, flowers or catering. It’s
advisable to check the details of your
plan carefully before you agree to buy it.
Over 50s plans
What image does the word ‘funeral’ conjure
up for you? A fleet of sleek, black limousines, a
horse-drawn carriage and mourners grouped
around a marble headstone? Or do you simply
see friends and relatives gathered together in a
woodland spot, scattering ashes from an urn?
While it’s easy to focus on the emotional and ceremonial
aspects of a funeral, we don’t always think about the costs.
According to the Money Advice Service (moneyadviceservice.
org.uk) the average price of a funeral, even without optional
items such as flowers and catering, is around £4,300.
That’s not exactly small change for most people, and it’s an
unfortunate fact that if you don’t make some kind of financial
provision for your funeral, your children or close relatives may
have to foot the bill when you die. Not only does this put
financial pressure on your nearest and dearest at a difficult
time, it can also mean that the final send-off you receive
doesn’t match up to the one you had envisaged.
You can leave instructions in your will as to the type of funeral
you would like, but if there isn’t enough in your estate to fund
your wishes, those left in charge of the arrangements are under
no legal obligation to carry them out, or even arrange a funeral
at all.
If you choose a church burial you could pay anything from
£800 (as a resident of a small, rural community) to £8,000
if you are a non-resident asking to be buried in a city area.
Your relatives will also need to pay ongoing maintenance fees
for the grave. A woodland burial is a more natural option, but
that also costs between a few hundred to several thousands
of pounds, depending upon location. Cremation is cheaper,
costing from £1,400 without a ceremony and approximately
£3,750 when a funeral is arranged.
If you don’t believe there will be enough money in your estate
to pay for a funeral when you die, and your relatives can’t
afford to chip in, there are several options open to you.
Although this is a form of insurance,
there’s no requirement for medical
underwriting. That means if you are in
poor health at the time of drawing up the
plan it won’t affect the pay-out, provided you survive beyond
the first two years of the plan’s start date. On the down side,
once you’ve paid the money in, you won’t get it back and you
risk losing all your money – including any costs towards your
funeral – if you don’t keep up to date with payments.
Life Insurance
According to the consumer association Which?, life insurance
could potentially pay out 40% more than an Over 50s plan.
However the lump sum provided by life insurance can take
several weeks to come through. The Association of British
Insurers says that payments generally take about a month to
arrive after a death, but they can take longer if the death needs
investigation.
Government-funded funeral payments
If the person responsible for arranging your funeral is receiving
certain benefits, they can apply to the government for a Funeral
Expenses Payment. The money offered will cover things such
as cremation fees or the cost of a particular burial plot, death
certificates and other documents, but it is unlikely to cover the
full cost of a funeral.
Save up with a bank account
You can always set up a separate bank account to pay for your
funeral, paying in gradually to build up the amount you need.
However that’s not risk free, as there’s a chance you might die
before you have accumulated your target sum. At your death,
the money you’ve saved will be considered part of your estate,
which means it won’t be released immediately to pay for your
funeral costs.
If you’ve been concerned about how you will pay for your
funeral, the five options listed above should provide some
comfort. Fortunately there’s lots more advice available from
organisations such as the Money Advice Service and Citizens
Advice. Finally, it always helps to discuss your plans with your
family or close friends, as any arrangements made now could
save them a lot of worry in future.
by Kate McLelland
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