Prepaid funerals offer ‘peace of mind’ they are designed to remove the stress of decision making often left to family members or executors. They empower you to make the decisions about the type of funeral you want by making all the relevant arrangements and paying for them at today’s prices, ensuring you have the comfort of knowing your funeral arrangements have been finalized and are fully guaranteed. Many funeral companies no longer offer fully paid funerals however Bendigo Funerals still provides fully covered, fully guaranteed, pre-paid funerals.
Security
When you pre-pay your funeral with Bendigo Funerals, your funds are placed in a capital guaranteed Funeral Bond which is a requirement under the Funerals Act 2006 in Victoria.
The Victorian Government first introduced prepaid funeral protection in 1993 with the Funerals (Pre-Paid Money) Act 1993, this was subsequently incorporated into the Funerals Act 2006.
What is a Funeral Bond?
Funeral Bonds are specific investments developed for Pre-paid Funerals and comply with the investment requirements of the Funerals Act 2006. Funeral Bonds are exempt from the Deeming Provisions and Assets Tests associated with Centrelink payments and are not assessable in terms of taxation.
Once a Funeral Bond is established it cannot be redeemed for any reason or by any person until the death of the individual named on the policy. The Bond accrues interest which will offset the inevitable rises in funeral costs over time. This interest is not deemed to be part of your income.
At Bendigo Funerals we also guarantee that should the realisation of the bond upon your death result in funds surplus to those required to cover your specified contractual funeral arrangements as at the date of death, then those additional funds will be refunded to client’s estate.
Funeral insurance – don’t be confused
Prepaid funerals are not funeral insurance – funeral insurance is a product where you pay a premium for a benefit, essentially it is life insurance and is not assigned to your funeral. If you stop paying your regular premiums you are no longer entitled to the benefit and there is no accumulation of funds over time.
With prepaid funerals, all funds paid into the policy along with any interest accumulated are available at the death of the client, to be used to pay all or part of the funeral costs.
Personal profile information
When prepaying or prearranging your funeral we record relevant family information which is used to register the death at the time of the funeral. You can print a copy of the personal profile here:
PrePaid Funerals
By installment
It is also possible to pre-pay your funeral by instalments, either monthly or at intervals that suit the client. Although not a fully prepaid funeral as such until all payments have been made*, all funds lodged and interest accumulated are available to be used for the client’s funeral whenever the death occurs.
- When paying by instalments, prices quoted are subject to change over time until the final payment is made.