More people putting money towards funerals instead of savings

According to a recent report an increasing number of consumers are now putting money towards their funeral costs rather than putting it into savings. It appears that the recession has caused a new trend to emerge, and rather than leaving their loved ones to foot the bill should the worst happen many people are already putting money aside for their funeral rather than putting their spare money into a savings account.

It is thought that part of the reason behind this rising trend is that people are not willing to put their hard earned cash into savings accounts that are paying such poor rates of interest, and have decided that their money is better invested in a ‘pay in advance’ funeral package, which many undertakers have been offering. With prepaid funerals there is a guarantee that the cost of the arranged funeral will be covered even if there is a rise in costs by the time the person passes away.

One funeral directors, Co-operative Funeralcare, said that it has seen the number of prepaid funeral packages being taken out increase by a massive 45 percent since January of this year. This equates to an extra twenty thousand people buying these prepaid funeral plans this year compared to the previous year.

An official from Co-operative Funeralcare said: ‘We are witnessing a dramatic rise in the number of customers who are rushing in to save money. People have lost confidence in traditional investments, such as savings accounts. With inflation in the funeral service going up year on year by 9%, it is cheaper for customers to take out a fixed-price plan, which can be paid in a lump sum or over a set period.’

He added: ‘Even though only 30% of people want to be buried, there is a huge lack of space in the UK, which has increased prices. For example, we had one customer who paid £3,000 for a burial space in London. The prices depend hugely on the region.’

Tags: money, year, service, report, savings, increase