When you start to compare later-life financial planning products, you may come across funeral plans and over 50s life cover. Both of these products let you support your family, spouse or next of kin when you die but in different ways.
Funeral plans let you plan and pay for your funeral in advance whereas over 50s life cover lets you set money aside so that your family receives a payout on your death.
The suitability of either product will depend on your personal circumstances. Getting to know what funeral plans and over 50s life cover both include can help you decide which one suits you.
Funeral plans are financial planning products designed specifically to cover the costs of a funeral. Funeral plan providers either have the facilities to carry out funerals themselves or relationships with the funeral directors who will do so.
At Distinct Cremations, we have all our own mortuary, transportation and crematorium facilities.
When you take out a funeral plan you can decide what kind of funeral you want and pay for it either upfront or in monthly instalments.
Wondering how funeral plans work? Once the payment conditions of your funeral plan have been met, your funeral is guaranteed. This protects you against inflation as your funeral will go ahead as agreed, regardless of rising funeral costs.
A funeral plan can also give you peace of mind that your wishes are clear and your funeral will happen as you want it to.
How do funeral plans work?
We provide funerals across mainland UK and carry out all aspects of your funeral ourselves. Our funeral plans give you the option of an unattended funeral or a small attended service.
We collect the deceased, care for them until the funeral in our professional mortuary, provide a simple coffin and either deliver the ashes back by hand or scatter them for you.
View our funeral plansIf you're concerned about your family being able to afford your funeral after your death or you want to pre-arrange the type of funeral you'd like, a funeral plan could set your mind at ease.
Give our team a call on 01543 211997 today to get your funeral plans in place.
As the name suggests, over 50s life cover (which is sometimes also referred to as over 50s life insurance) is available specifically for people over 50. Maximum age limits also apply - you usually have to be under 80-85 to buy cover.
With over 50s life cover, you pay monthly instalments and on your death a lump sum of money is paid out. The payout is set from the start of the policy and doesn’t change. Neither do the agreed monthly payments.
Payments need to be made monthly from the time you take out your cover until your 90th birthday. After this point, your cover still applies, but you don’t need to pay any more money. The amount you pay each month is based on your age, how big you want your payout to be and also where you live.
As long as you're in the right age bracket, you can take out over 50s life cover. There are no questions about your health that need to be answered so the state of your health doesn't affect how much you pay or whether or not you're eligible for cover. This is the same for funeral plans too.
The money can be used for anything. Your family could put it towards funeral expenses (although it is not guaranteed to cover all funeral costs). Alternatively, the money can be used to pay for other expenses like bills or debts. Or it could be given as a gift to help a family member or your next of kin financially.
If you'd like to chat with someone to explain the details about our funeral plans at any point or you have specific questions you'd like to ask about our services, please do get in touch. We're here for you 24/7.
Call us on 01543 211997When you're shopping around for either funeral plans or over 50s life cover you may come across some new terms. These three commonly used terms might be helpful to familiarise yourself with.
For both funeral plans and over 50s life cover, there is a period before cover starts when accidental death is still covered. This is referred to as the moratorium period and is usually either one or two years.
Premiums are the amount of money you pay each month. For over 50s life cover or if you've chosen to pay for your funeral plan monthly, the amount you pay will be set out at the beginning and won't change.
The sum assured is the set amount of money that will be paid when your over 50s life cover is claimed. Instead of a set payment, funeral plans guarantee a funeral regardless of any funeral cost rises in the future.
Whether a funeral plan or over 50s life cover is good value for money, depends on your priorities, financial circumstances, what you want to be covered and the level of cover you’d like.
But bear in mind that:
+ Funeral costs were £1,835 in 2004 and £4,141 in 2023 (SunLife Cost of Dying Report 2024, sunlife.co.uk/funeral-costs)
But bear in mind that:
| Funeral plan | Over 50s life cover | |
|---|---|---|
| What is the cover for? | Specifically for a funeral | Payout can be used to cover debts, bills or to give loved ones financial stability |
| What happens when you die? | Your funeral goes ahead as agreed | A payout is made - a death certificate may be needed before the money is paid |
| Who receives money? | Your chosen funeral provider so there is less for your family to arrange | Your family so they can use the money to cover other debts or expenses |
| How do you pay? | There are different ways to pay offering you flexibility | Payments need to be made monthly for the duration of the policy otherwise the cover ends |
| How long do you pay for? | You can choose to pay a single payment upfront or monthly over 1, 5 or 10 years | Until you are 90 so you could be paying for up to 40 years |
| Are there age restrictions? | Over 18 - depending on how you pay plans are available with no upper age limits | Over 50 - upper age limits also apply and age can affect the cost of monthly payments |
| Are there medical checks? | No – eligible regardless of health | No – eligible regardless of health |
We specialise in low-cost and simple cremation funerals.
Choose between our Unattended Direct Cremation Plan, Small Attended Cremation Plans or our Simple Funeral Plan which includes a full length celebrant-led service.
For additional pricing information and a full list of our optional extras, please see our price list.
Our Unattended Direct Cremation Plan is a great choice for those looking for a simple farewell which takes place with no service or mourners at our high-quality crematoria where compassionate care is guaranteed throughout.
With our Small Attended Cremation Plans, you can have up to 8 people attending a 10 minute service or up to 20 people attending a 20 minute service so your nearest and dearest can pay their respects at the crematorium.
Our funeral plans are designed for people who want a respectful send-off but who want to keep costs down.
Low cost funerals free up money that would otherwise have been set aside for your funeral to be spent on other priorities or to be used for a separate more personal memorial of your life instead.
Funeral plan providers and providers of over 50s life cover are both regulated to help keep your money safe.
All providers operating legally must be authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which exists to enhance consumer protection.
Distinct Funeral Plans Limited (DFPL) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to sell and administer funeral plans. These include both modestly attended cremation services and just cremations.
As part of our regulatory responsibilities, we provide full and clear information about how we keep your money safe.
Continue your research to narrow down the ideal later-life financial planning product for you and find out other ways you can prepare yourself and your family for your death in the future.
If you think a funeral plan is the option that sounds most suitable for you, the next step is choosing the right plan. We've put some tips together to help.
Choosing a funeral plan
Get to know the different payment options available when you take out a funeral plan to see if paying upfront or in monthly instalments would suit you.
The different ways to pay for a plan
If you know you’ll be the one making funeral arrangements for a loved one, getting a funeral plan for them could help ease your mind.
Setting up a plan for a loved oneBelow are a selection of reviews from those who have purchased a funeral through Distinct Cremations.
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