How to pay for your own funeral

Short of having perhaps money set aside in savings for funeral costs, most people paying for a funeral will need to find the money from somewhere. Here are some of your options:

• Take out a prepaid funeral plan
• Get over 50s life insurance towards funeral costs
• Agree a plan with a funeral director
• Use existing assets (your estate)
• Draw upon cash reserves.

The short answer is yes – you can pay for a funeral in advance through a prepaid funeral plan. These are an option for those who wish to pay for a funeral in advance at today’s prices. If you're considering one, ensure you read the information thoroughly as not all UK funeral plans are the same.

As the name suggests, a prepaid funeral plan is an arrangement that lets you pay in advance for a funeral. The amount you pay will be based on the price quoted at the time you take out the plan.

A prepaid funeral plan will usually cover the essential costs of a funeral director, including the coffin, care of the body, cars and pall-bearers, plus either the cost of cremation or a burial, depending on your preference. It’s unlikely to cover other costs such as a wake, floral tributes or a headstone. Paying for a funeral in advance may tie you to a particular Funeral Director or funeral company, which may become difficult if you move in the intervening years. Also, what’s offered can vary a great deal, so make sure to check that everything you want is covered on any plan you take out.

Once you’ve paid the agreed amount in your funeral payment plan, the parts of the funeral included in the plan are covered when you die. The provider will pay the money straight to the Funeral Director, so your friends or family won't have to get too involved in the financial or administrative side. It's also worth knowing you won’t pay Inheritance Tax on your UK funeral plan.

From 29 July 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority has regulated the Funeral Plans sector. This will provide customers with enhanced protection if they take out a prepaid funeral plan from an FCA authorised provider. Read more information on the FCA Regulation of Pre-Paid Funeral Plans.

Some say it’s smart to prepay for a funeral, while others are happy to stump up the cash through their estate when the time comes. Either way, funerals can be expensive, so it pays to plan ahead and think about how your funeral will be paid for.

Paying for your own funeral may be a significant expense for you to think about covering, especially if you have a more elaborate service in mind or the costs include paying for a burial plot. It's worth trying to estimate what the likely costs will be, and then looking into ways you can begin putting plans in place to help pay them.

As a rough estimate, a one-off funeral plan payment could cost you up to £5,000, but you could potentially get a more basic plan for under £3,000. People understandably want to know how much a prepaid funeral costs, but in reality, it depends on the size and scale of your funeral and if you’d like to pay a lump sum or monthly instalments – paying monthly could increase the overall cost.