Paying Funeral Costs In Advance

[robert551069]

A friend of mine died recently but as she had paid her funeral costs in advance she saved her family £4000

[Peter Pedant]

Fantastic ! Something I need to bear in mind when I re start chemotherapy. Sounds as though she paid for a funeral up ahead which is hardly insurance and I expect my estate to pay for my own funeral....

short service and then majority spend on the pub....

[hc4361]

There are problems with pre-paying for your funeral.
* You might emigrate
* The company might go bust
* You may not save any money in real terms. Like everything else the cost of funerals goes up but (hopefully) so does your income, so any saving is relative
* If you own your own home but you're short of cash, don't struggle to pay for a funeral in advance - and definitely don't borrow to do so. The funeral will be paid out of your estate when the time comes.
* If you are on certain benefits and meet other criteria when you die the state will pay for a basic funeral
* There is a slight chance there will never be a funeral. Not because you live forever but if your body is never found or recovered.

[woofgang]

hc, I think that most people pre pay for their funerals once they are on a fixed income (retired).

[hc4361]

Pensions still increase year on year, Woofgang. In fact state pensions have risen more than most salaries these last few years.

[woofgang]

hc I don't think that there are many pensions(judged by the number of people who have them) that beat inflation!

[hc4361]

The state pension increases have been quite good, don't you think?

[Sycamore3House]

A friend of mine prepaid for his funeral back in 1990 (when his wife passed & they had no children). He then moved in with his teenage sweetheart in 1995 & liked the fact that he would not be a burden to anyone when he did die.
The last couple of years of his life he was quite ill and would regularly tell me that he one had so many years left on his funeral meaning that the plan he took out ran out after 25 years. This is not the first time that I have heard that these plans expire but not sure how true it is.

[Old_Geezer]

Perhaps there is a lifetime guarantee ?

[granny grump]

I thought £4000 seems quite high - does the cost depend where you live? Obviously the type of funeral you choose will also impact on the cost

[hc4361]

So many variants, grannygrump. Burial is more expensive than a cremation. Hearse + 2 cars will cost more than a hearse +1 or just a hearse.
Vicar/priest fees.
Type of coffin/casket.
Flowers included?
Overnight removal of the deceased is extra.
Out of hours viewings may be extra.
The costs just keep adding up and up.

[Peter Pedant]

granny frump - I thought the fren' had paid X
and then when they went to the pre paid funeral,
they sudduv looked to see how much the 'deluxe laid-to-rest satin lined coffin and 10 min eulogy' cost at a reputable church, on the internet - during the hymns of course - and saw it was £ X + 4k.

ergo

I wouldnt mind spending 4k on the p+ss-up afterwards quite honestly
summing to do with being RC and celebrating the fella's life

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Funeral costs will soon go up for burnings..........after the gas price hikes :-)

[hc4361]

I think it a good thing that some councils are finding ways to use the energy created by the crematoria.
Some councils are using it heat swimming pools