Funeral planning – pre-paid plans

What is a funeral plan?

A funeral plan is a method of paying for your funeral before you pass away. Essentially you are paying for your funeral in advance providing both yourself and your family with peace of mind that things will be taken care of. More people are turning to pre-paid plans with the rising costs of funerals.

What is the average cost of a funeral?

According to an article by the Daily Mirror the average cost of a funeral is £4,136. The article also states ‘the cost of a funeral has risen from £3,456 to £4,136 year-on-year and is set to soar by 22% to £5,066 by 2026’.

As a result of the rising costs people are turning to other methods to fund the funeral costs. With ever more complicated estates it is not always possible for the funeral to be paid by the estate straight away. Money can be quite easily ‘tied up’.

As such, the family or friends of the deceased sometimes foot the bill and then become a creditor on the estate.

Problems can sometimes arise when the family cannot afford to pay for the funeral. Under those circumstances assistance is available. The Money Advice Service provides information on the average costs for a funeral and on how to get assistance with paying for the funeral.

How many people die in England and Wales every year?

According to the Office of National Statistics over 501,000 deaths were registered in England and Wales in 2014. This was a decrease of 1.1% on the 506,000 deaths registered the year before.

Burial vs Cremation

On average 3 times more people are cremated than buried (Statistics – The National Death Centre). This is a personal choice and the choice is made in your Will and in your funeral plan making things easier for your executors.

How the Pre-Paid Plan works

Making the decision to take out a pre-paid funeral plan will also allow you to choose how you would like your funeral to be.

When completing the forms for a pre-paid plan ordinarily you will choose the plan and price that best suits your budget.

Details like where you would want the service to be held at, whether you would like to be buried or cremated, the type of coffin etc.

This information will be sent off to the provider and a record will be created. Details will then be provided and should be stored safely. The funeral plan provider should then be contacted on your death and then the plan could be put into place.

Interesting facts about funerals and passing

Some tribes of Indian Gypsies celebrate death and mourn a birth. This is due to their belief that reincarnation exists and that when someone passes they are going to a better place.

In Western culture many celebrate the life of the deceased by holding a wake but a period of mourning still takes place.

Flowers were originally put on graves to earn good will from the spirits of the deceased.