What is a pre-paid funeral plan?

There is a genuine concern from many people, that they won’t leave enough money to cover all the costs and additional expenditures of their funeral.  Funerals can be expensive, often costing thousands.  Just the basic funeral costs in 2020 were reported at a national average of £3,837*.  This does not consider extras, like a memorial, a wake/celebration of life, catering, car hire, flowers etc. 

Costs in the UK also vary by region, costing a lot more in London (£5,032) than in other parts of the country.   

This is why pre-paid funeral plans have become so popular, as they are a useful, and mostly efficient way of saving money for your own funeral.

Also Read: Advantages to Pre-paid Funeral Planning

Advantages to Pre-paid Funeral Planning

They allow you to set this money aside either in the form of a lump sum or monthly payments, which partly contribute or fully cover your funeral costs. 

Because people worry about the cost, over the past few years there has been an increase in the number of people that have taken out a pre-paid funeral plan.

Payments are made by either paying fixed monthly payments or a lump sum upfront. 

The cost for a pre-paid funeral plan is around £3,000 and £6,000.  As this is a large amount of money for many people, preferred payment options are the monthly fixed payments or instalments over six to 12 months or up to five years.   They payment time frame is dependent on the cost and type of plan. 

Most providers enable you to arrange and plan your funeral from flowers and music to location and transport, which is great for those that want as much covered as possible.  Be mindful though as many plans do not always cover the entire cost of your funeral.  Depending on what you have planned your family may find that they need to top up the fund either from your estate or from their own pockets. 

Also Read: Disadvantages to Pre-paid Funeral Planning

*Royal London national funeral cost index 2020