Pre Plan Your Funeral

Anyone can take out a Pre-Paid Funeral Plan regardless of their age or state of health, and in doing so can enjoy the following benefits:

• You can protect your family from the distress of making difficult decisions at an emotional time
• Your family will be relieved from any financial burden
• It makes good financial sense – by making all of your choices now, you can fix the price of the funeral at today’s costs (subject to any specific terms of the contact)
• You can ensure that your exact wishes are made known and are carried out
• Pre-paying means real peace of mind for you and your family, and you may be able to maximise your pension entitlement.
• Any money paid into the plan is not subject to the income or assets test or deemed earnings rule (according to current legislation).

• The type and style of funeral service
• Preparation of the body and viewing arrangements
• Burial or cremation
• The specific cemetery or crematorium
• Type of coffin or casket
• Minister or Celebrant
• Memorial book and memorial cards
• Death notices, flowers, mourning vehicles etc, and
• Special features you would like to include such as a poem or piece of music.

The money you pay for your Pre-Paid Funeral Plan is held secure by an independent entity such as a friendly society or trustee company and is properly invested and safeguarded until such time as the funeral services under the Pre-Paid Funeral Plan are required. Only then will the funds be released to the Funeral Director.

There are two ways to make payments for a Pre-Paid Funeral Plan. You can pay for your Pre-Paid Funeral Plan in a lump sum or your Funeral Director may give you the option to pay by instalments. This is usually arranged through a direct debit or booklet payment system.

A Pre-Arranged Funeral is where a client may discuss with a Funeral Director their preferences for a type and style of funeral and the Funeral Director may record these preferences for future reference, but no formal agreement is entered into for that specific funeral.

It will be the responsibility of the client’s family or executor to arrange the funeral and to pay for it at the time of the funeral.

A Funeral Bond is a specialised investment which enables an individual to accumulate funds to meet future funeral expenses. An investment in a Funeral Bond is similar to a life insurance policy, whereby the benefit becomes payable on death. The benefits must be used to meet an individual’s funeral expenses. A Funeral Bond is an investment towards the cost of a funeral and by itself does not guarantee against rising funeral prices.