The story is the same in the U.S. The elderly, who comprised only 1 in every 25 Americans (3.1 million) in 1900, made up 1 in 8 (33.2 million) in 1994. The elderly populations will more than double between now and the year 2050, to 80 million. By that year, as many as 1 in 5 Americans could be elderly. Most of this growth should occur between 2010 and 2030, when the "baby boom" generation enters their elderly years.
Over the last several decades there has been a huge increase in the number of people who are prepaying their funerals. Seniors in ever increasing numbers are making the decision to ensure that even if they outlive their assets, the burden of paying for their funeral will not fall on their families.
Not all methods of prepaying a funeral are created equally; there are several ways to prepay your funeral.
At one time, the only way to prepay a funeral was to go into a funeral home and make a lump sum payment. The funeral home would deposit the money in a bank account, held in trust, the interest earned on that money would pay for future increases in the cost of the funeral. So in essence, the cost of the funeral is guaranteed.
There are costs, however which are not guaranteed, which are known in the funeral industry as disbursements, such as newspaper notices, flowers, luncheons, opening and closings on burial lots, etc. As a result, the complete cost of the funeral is not covered, and those costs not guaranteed will likely continue to rise over the years.
The low interest rate environment we have been living with for several years has turned this method of prepaying a funeral on its head. Funeral homes are finding that their costs are rising faster than the return that the invested funds are yielding. The Final Needs Planning Program has the perfect solution to this problem. Our insurance-based funeral prepayment plan is designed to grow with interest, which helps absorb increasing funeral costs.
All seniors and soon-to-be-seniors are concerned about preserving their capital, so the Final Needs Planning Program allows for monthly payments to be made. The plan is insured immediately in most cases, which means if death occurs before all the payments are made, the funeral costs are still looked after. The plan allows families to take out extra coverage to ensure that their loved ones are not burdened by unforeseen bills.
The Final Needs Planning Program can be used anywhere in the world, and is ideal for people who are planning to move upon retirement and do not want to be tied down to a specific funeral home. The Final Needs Planning Program also provides coverage, in the event a death occurs while outside the country.
All arrangements are taken care of, including paying all the bills to repatriate the remains. This, plus a service which takes care of all of the paperwork including cancelling credit cards, licenses etc., is the reason that the Final Needs Planning Program is considered to be the premier funeral prepayment plan in Canada.