Can anyone recommend a best buy Funeral Plan?

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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 17,413
    First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    well my two girls know exactly what I would like when I shuffle off this mortal coil.As they will have my house between them which is worth around £170k I think there is enough there to make sure I go with dignity.It's the one bill I will never have to worry about. I am not keen on funeral plans, as to me I would rather use the money that I have now to have fun with my grandchildren.Life is for living and not fretting about dying
  • soolin wrote: »
    My dad took one out earlier this year as it was becoming obvious he was going to need to move into proper care and he wanted the security of knowing that if his money ran out I wouldn't be worried about having to pay for his funeral.

    He has the basic Co Op funeral plan, I think it was £2250 and for that he has a service, coffin all the ministers and funeral directors fees. The only extra we will have to pay for is a car to follow the hearse if we choose to have one. Dad was never one for funerals or for any 'nonsense' as he called it and always asked that we just gave his body away and be done with it when he died, but when he realised that was probably not going to be possible, leaving us with a funeral bill really worried him so the plan took care of that.


    Picking up on that point by soolin,here's a few questions and answer about leaving your body for medical research


    http://www.hta.gov.uk/about_hta/faqs/body_donation_faqs.cfm



    http://www.hta.gov.uk/about_hta/donating_a_body_to_medical_science/how_to_donate_a_body.cfm
  • Like a few people above, my Mum took out a plan with a local funeral parlour and it was a godsend when she passed away last year.
    We simply rang the funeral people and everything was taken care of with that one 'phone call.
    Her sister is still alive at 96 and, having enduring power of attorney, I have taken out a plan for her (£1,650) in the knowledge that I only have to make the one call - it really is a weight off my mind knowing that the professionals will get on with things, and they do it very well and with great dignity.
    To save my wife having the worry, I too have taken out a plan.

    Dave
  • Ted_Hutchinson
    Ted_Hutchinson Posts: 7,142 Forumite
    Anyone on the borderline for claiming means tested benefit or pension credit should be aware that a funeral plan is not regarded as capital and will not reduce your entitlement whereas money in a savings account is and will.

    It is better financially therefore to take money from your Capital and Savings and buy a funeral plan (providing all the usual checks are carried out about the suitability of the chosen plan/provider) and thus increase your benefit entitlement. This will provide a far better return than the interest on the cost of the plan.

    Your savings

    The first £6000 of your savings and capital are ignored in the calculation for Pension Credit. There is no savings / capital limit above which you cannot claim Pension Credit.
    The Pensions Service count £1 a week as income for every £500 or part of £500 over £6,000 you have in savings. (For care home residents the first £10,000 of savings ignored.)
    Capital that is counted includes savings and ISA’s, shares or unit trusts, premium bonds, and income or capital bonds. Property that you normally live in is ignored as capital.

    So if you look at the Co-op funeral plan £2200 -£2800 reducing your savings by this amount would increase your weekly income by £5-6 weekly or £250-300 annually. and if anyone can find a better investment then I'd like to know about it. ;) But of course this only works if you are within striking distance of the Savings disregard or are currently claiming means tested benefits.

    Buying a funeral plan does NOT count as Intentional deprivation of capital
    My weight loss following Doktor Dahlqvist' Dietary Program
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  • Robin_T_Cox
    Robin_T_Cox Posts: 201 Forumite
    No. Funeral plans are a rip-off. Disposal of corpses is a public health matter, and having paid taxes for long enough I do not see why I should not expect my remains to be disposed of efficiently and with respect. In any case, I imagine that I shall be long past caring.
  • moon-pig_2
    moon-pig_2 Posts: 51 Forumite
    No. Funeral plans are a rip-off.

    I suppose to make that decision, you would have to contact a few funeral directors and compare their current prices with the plan.
  • Ted_Hutchinson
    Ted_Hutchinson Posts: 7,142 Forumite
    I do not see why I should not expect my remains to be disposed of efficiently and with respect. In any case, I imagine that I shall be long past caring.
    But those who currently care about you may appreciate the opportunity of publicly celebrating your life that a funeral provides. While I seem to have attended far too many funerals over the past year I do think a funeral provides an opportunity for family members to come to terms with their loss.

    In one case (not my family I assure you) there was insufficient money (from insurance policies) available for the funeral and the relatives felt obliged to have a whip round to cover the cost which was somewhat embarrasing/humiliating for some and led to an unfortunate family argument some months later.

    While it may not bother the deceased that his descendants are left arguing about who picks up the tab for the funeral, I think it is reasonable to ensure sufficient funds are available to cover the cost.

    It makes far more sense if means tested benefits are claimable, to use a funeral plan, rather than leave sufficient funds to cover the cost of a funeral, in a savings account and have that reduce your entitlement to weekly benefit by £1 a week for each £500 set aside.

    The total cost of dying in the UK is now typically £5,923 (do read this link it's quite interesting)

    There is no general death grant, but if you are in this situation and you receive a means-tested social security benefit (such as income support) you may be able to get a payment from the social fund (known as a funeral payment) to cover the cost of a simple funeral. Even where a funeral payment is made, it may not cover the full cost of the funeral and you may still have to pay the difference.


    For more information on the social fund, see Help for people on a low income - The Social Fund.
    My weight loss following Doktor Dahlqvist' Dietary Program
    Start 23rd Jan 2008 14st 9lbs Current 10st 12lbs
  • mrs_baggins
    mrs_baggins Posts: 1,290
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    having just arranged a funeral for my mom I was amazed at the cost of even a simple service. This got me thinking as you do to my own death and what would happen etc. Loooked on net about getting a funeral plan set up. I am 50 now and if I spread it over 10 years at £24 a month I would have paid £2936 in the pot so to speak. I am guessing that by then funeral costs will go up even more than they are now but would I be better putting this money elsewhere maybe? the plan i was looking at also covers the disbursements such as cremation fees and doctors fees which can only rise in 10 years.
  • lilac_lady
    lilac_lady Posts: 4,469 Forumite
    I thought about doing this a while ago but decided not to do it. I'll leave enough money to cover my humanist funeral (including champagne) and my children can enjoy the rest of my money (if there's any left - depends how long I live..........!!
    " The greatest wealth is to live content with little."

    Plato


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