Can I pay for my funeral in advance?
Yes, with Simplicity you can pay for your funeral in advance with a prepaid funeral plan. A prepaid funeral plan allows you to pay for your funeral in advance, in a lump sum or in monthly instalments.
Prepaid funeral plans
A funeral plan allows you to pay for and plan your own funeral in advance. Taking care of your funeral costs with a prepaid funeral plan means you can fix the cost of the services covered in the plan at today’s prices, with no more to pay for these services in the future, no matter how much costs may increase. You’ll know exactly how much you have to pay for your funeral, without worrying about inflation or price rises.
A prepaid funeral plan is the smart way of paying for your funeral in advance. It allows you to:
- Ensure your funeral is carried out according to your wishes
- Avoid placing a financial burden on your family
- Relieve your loved ones from any stress or uncertainty over what you would have wanted
Choosing a prepaid funeral plan
At Simplicity, we specialise in providing affordable funeral plans for an altogether simpler affair. If you would like a funeral without the ceremonial, often expensive, elements of a traditional funeral, a Simplicity prepaid funeral plan could be for you.
Our prepaid funeral plans cover all of the necessary elements of a simple funeral including cremation fees, a simple coffin, care in our quality mortuary facilities, transportation of the deceased in our specialist vehicles and the return of ashes. You simply have to select a plan based on the number of people you’d like to attend your funeral:
- The Lily Plan – a direct cremation without a service or mourners present
- The Magnolia Plan – a small funeral with a short crematorium service for up to 12 people to attend
- The Orchid Plan – a full-length slot in the crematorium chapel with a service arranged by your family, and no limit on attendees
See our prepaid funeral plans for more information on what’s included in each option.
How can I pay for my funeral in advance?
You can pay for your funeral in advance in a single payment, spread across 12 months with no additional charge or in instalments over a period of up to 60 months.
In a single payment
If you have the money already set aside, you can pay for your funeral plan in a lump sum, allowing you to relax knowing everything is taken care of.
Over 12 months
We realise that not everyone will have the funds available to pay in a single payment, that’s why you can spread the cost of your funeral over a period of up to 12 monthly payments if you prefer, with no additional charge.
In instalments up to 5 years
You can spread the cost over a duration of up to 60 months, provided all payments over any instalment term longer than 12 months are completed by the 85th birthday of the Customer and the instalment term does not exceed the maximum term available.
The money you pay for your prepaid funeral plan goes into The UK Funerals (2022) Trust, where it is held securely and managed carefully to make sure that the services in your plan are covered. The Trust is independently managed and this allows us to guarantee that no matter what happens we guarantee to provide the services within your plan.
How can I purchase a prepaid funeral plan?
It’s really simple to purchase a Simplicity Cremations prepaid funeral plan. As long as you're aged 18 or over, you’re guaranteed to be accepted; you don’t need to take a medical exam or answer any questions.
There’s three ways to apply; you can buy online, request a brochure and complete the application form included or contact us to discuss your requirements.
Following your application, we’ll get back to you within 5 days. We’ll send you your Customer pack in the post. When the plan is needed, your nominated representative (if added to the plan) will simply have to call us to put the plan into motion. They’ll be guided through the arrangement process by our expert team of funeral arrangers.
Can I pay for my funeral in advance without a funeral plan?
You can pay for your own funeral in advance, or at least leave provisions to do so, without taking out a funeral plan.
Savings accounts
Paying for your funeral in advance could be as simple as leaving money in a bank account and letting your family and solicitor know that the money is set aside for your funeral.
With funeral costs rising year on year, there is no guarantee your savings will cover the cost of your funeral. To put this into context, the average funeral in the UK in 2020 cost £4,184, this is projected to rise to £5,044 by 2025*.
With a funeral plan, you can guarantee there will be no more for your family to pay for the funeral services covered in your plan when the time comes.
Paying from your estate
Funeral costs can be paid from your estate after your death. Banks and building societies will normally release funds if they are presented with an itemised bill from a funeral director and a copy of the death certificate.
Similar to savings accounts, your estate may not cover the full cost of a funeral. If there isn’t enough money in your estate to cover the costs, the organiser of the funeral will need to make up the difference.
Funeral insurance
When choosing funeral insurance, you agree to pay a monthly premium that goes towards a lump sum that is paid out upon your death. This lump sum varies depending on which insurance plan you take out. The payout can be used for pretty much anything, such as settling bills or even debts, but is primarily designed to pay for the funeral.
Funeral insurance can be something of a gamble because the fixed lump sum that pays out once the person has died doesn’t grow if more payments are made, so if the person ends up living longer than anticipated, or the funeral insurance plan is taken out earlier in their life, they may end up paying much more into the policy than the amount that is paid out at the end.
Your family will also have the responsibility of arranging your funeral, something they will not need to do with a funeral plan, as all of the arrangements will already be in place.
We’ve compared funeral insurance vs funeral plans to help you understand the potential advantages and disadvantages of both options.
Talk to us about our range of prepaid funeral plans
You can contact us for more information about paying for your funeral in advance. Our helpful team are here to answer any questions you may have and guide you through the process of taking out a prepaid funeral plan.
Should you want further information to discuss our range of prepaid funeral plans with your family, our brochure is free to download. Click here to request a brochure.
*SunLife (2021), Cost of Dying Report, sunlife.co.uk/costofdying2021