Almost 900,000 people have chosen to plan ahead with Golden Charter already*. What are the benefits of planning for the future by securing your funeral plans now?
Peace of mind
Planning, and paying for, your own funeral removes a huge burden from your family at what will be a very difficult time for them. By pre-planning your funeral you take away much of the decision making that surrounds funeral organisation and by paying for the funeral director services included in your plan, you help ease financial pressures that could be placed on your loved ones.
Funerals can be expensive and another financial benefit of planning your funeral is that it gives you control over how much you spend. Faced with a recent bereavement, it is easy for family members to feel that they must ‘do right’ by you and spend more on your funeral than you may have wanted. In the most recent Cost of Dying report by SunLife, 4 in 10 said that they wanted their family to spend as little as possible on their send-off*.
Buying a funeral plan from a regulated provider means that your money is safe until it is needed. Golden Charter funeral plans also protect your family against any increases in the cost of funeral director services included in your plan. Golden Charter plans also include a built-in allowance towards third-party costs*. These costs may include things like burial or interment fees or minister or officiants fees.
Golden Charter funeral plans offer customers the option to make a single payment or pay in monthly instalments, depending on customer age and plan value.
Your funeral, your way
By pre-planning your funeral, you can make sure that your wishes are carried out exactly as you want them to be. With more people opting for non-traditional funeral services, it is more important than ever to state clearly what you want. Leaving behind a clear plan for your funeral not only takes the stress off your family at a difficult time but also makes it easy for loved ones to respect your wishes.
Your funeral plan should include instructions on whether you want to be buried or cremated and can include details on additional elements of the service like what readings you want, what music you would like played and what flowers you would like.
Taking care of arrangements for your funeral also means that you have the time to think about what you want and change your mind. With a Golden Charter funeral plan, you can update your instructions at any time, giving you full control of your final send-off.
Sharing your wishes
Death is not the taboo topic that it used to be. However, there is still a gap between the number of people who say they are OK with talking about death and dying and those that do it.
According to a survey by the end-of-life charity Marie Curie, while most people think it’s important to express their end-of-life wishes around care, just 14% of respondents have done this. The practical implications of this are that less than 1% of the UK population is aware of all of their loved one’s funeral preferences. Only two-fifths of people in the UK are sure whether their partner would like a religious or non-religious ceremony, and just over half know if they’d want a burial or cremation*.
Uncertainty around funeral arrangements can add to family stress and can even lead to arguments at a very emotional time. Setting up a funeral plan gives you the opportunity to have an honest conversation with your loved ones about your funeral wishes. Speaking openly about what you want is the surest way to avoid any upset.
At Golden Charter, we offer a range of funeral plans that allow you to organise your funeral arrangements in advance, and specify your wishes. Our funeral plans also include the funeral director’s services for conducting the funeral which is fixed at today’s prices and includes an allowance towards third-party costs at the time of the funeral. These are costs for essential, non-funeral director services required to carry out a cremation or burial.
