Do monthly funeral plan payments have to come out of weekly allowance?

joe'sdaughter

Registered User
Jun 15, 2014
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Father's only income is his £24.40 per week pocket money left by the Government after his pensions go towards his care home fees.

Over the years he has taken out a couple of funeral plan policies with Sun Life. They amount to £30 per month. Can the LA who carried out his financial assessment be asked that he is left this amount over and above his £24.40 weekly amount pls?

I was thinking of telling him to stop the payments but don't know if what he has accrued will be frozen and there will still be something towards the cost of a funeral or whether what he has accrued will be "lost" if the monthly payments cease.

TIA
 

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
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London
I think you should get in touch with Sun Life and enquire exactly as to the terms and conditions of their plans. Why has the taken out "a couple" anyway? Wouldn't one be enough?
 

joe'sdaughter

Registered User
Jun 15, 2014
12
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Thank you, Beate.

The problem is that I don't think they will speak to me. When I say a couple, he started off with one and then (through them junk mailing him with "upgrading") he took out another - the policies are about ten years apart.
 

Raggedrobin

Registered User
Jan 20, 2014
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I wouldn't have thought you can lose the money, freezing payments sounds the way to go. I doubt the LA would accept continued payments unless it is out of his capital, but it sounds like he has none. i would check with the LA, check with the insurers and when that is done, cancel the payments.
 

joe'sdaughter

Registered User
Jun 15, 2014
12
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I wouldn't have thought you can lose the money, freezing payments sounds the way to go. I doubt the LA would accept continued payments unless it is out of his capital, but it sounds like he has none. i would check with the LA, check with the insurers and when that is done, cancel the payments.

Thanks. You're right - no capital.
 

Mumsmum

Registered User
Oct 29, 2012
65
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Scotland
Funeral plans next big mis-selling scandal

Sadly, I speak from experience that funeral plans are a huge rip off and should be reviewed by the FCA. The benefit is set once you take out the policy and generally only pay out if paid out until death. When dad died I received £1,200 and worked out he'd paid in £7,000!!!!! So the best option is always to pay into an isa or savings account, these will generally allow withdrawal to pay for funerals before probate settled. However, once you have been paying in for years it's a calculation to work out how much extra you will expect to pay before it's needed. My mum with dementia is fighting fit, so I just chose to stop her payments.
 

babypie

Registered User
Feb 29, 2012
209
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Rubery,Birmingham
Hi

Its not quite the same but my Dad has a "hospital Saturday plan" that comes out every month and that comes out just from his money in bank, not his allowance. I also buy him items of clothes out of his funds too..not a lot but how can you get them these sort of things on the allowance, its not enough.

K x
 

WILLIAMR

Account Closed
Apr 12, 2014
1,078
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Sadly, I speak from experience that funeral plans are a huge rip off and should be reviewed by the FCA. The benefit is set once you take out the policy and generally only pay out if paid out until death. When dad died I received £1,200 and worked out he'd paid in £7,000!!!!! So the best option is always to pay into an isa or savings account, these will generally allow withdrawal to pay for funerals before probate settled. However, once you have been paying in for years it's a calculation to work out how much extra you will expect to pay before it's needed. My mum with dementia is fighting fit, so I just chose to stop her payments.

My father made a once for all payment of about £1,200 in to his funeral plan and it was worth it as it would have cost £2,800 for what it covered 5 years ago.
My advice is to only cover the hearse and 1 limo. At the time he took out the plan there were enough people to fill 3 limos.
Dad was the oldest of the people around his age and expected to pass away first but he was last. He was nearly 90.

William
 

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
12,179
0
London
Sadly, I speak from experience that funeral plans are a huge rip off and should be reviewed by the FCA. The benefit is set once you take out the policy and generally only pay out if paid out until death. When dad died I received £1,200 and worked out he'd paid in £7,000!!!!! So the best option is always to pay into an isa or savings account, these will generally allow withdrawal to pay for funerals before probate settled. However, once you have been paying in for years it's a calculation to work out how much extra you will expect to pay before it's needed. My mum with dementia is fighting fit, so I just chose to stop her payments.

I do have to agree with that. While funeral plans will work for some, you really have to do your sums - often a funeral might be cheaper and also more flexible in what arrangements you can make if you fund it without a plan. The industry should be regulated more, and the idea of an ISA to save money in is a very sound one even though the rates are low a the moment as it's the only form of saving that doesn't deduct any tax on your interest rates.
 

Raggedrobin

Registered User
Jan 20, 2014
1,425
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But if you are on a very low income (under what is it, £10k?) and have taxable savings, you can claim the tax back. mum had isas, but also had a smaller amount of money in a taxable account at a very good rate, and filled in the form to say she was exempt from paying tax due to her low income, so those savings were also tax free.
 

Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,050
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Salford
Virtually all of these policies require you to keep paying or you lose everything you've paid in. It's a bit of a gamble some win some lose if you die sooner then you win, live too long and you're a loser, hell of a thought that:(
I guess you could make these payments on his behalf, simple sum £30 a month so £360 a year as long as you had something to say this is a debt then you get it back from his estate it might pay off.
The ads for them are all over daytime TV and often promoted by older celebs and you are told you may pay in more than you get back and that is the nature of insurance, I've paid 23 years of house insurance & 20 years of car insurance with no claims made was I miss sold these products? There will be winners in this field of insurance, those who die young just as there are car insurance winners, the ones who crash and home insurance winners, the ones who get flooded or burgled, sometimes being a loser can be good, at least it's only money you've lost.
K
 

Fed Up

Registered User
Aug 4, 2012
464
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My mum bought a Co-op funeral bond 22 years ago it cost £794 and included the coffin, the herse, the relatives limo, all fees vicar etc etc and she got enough dividend stamps to buy a tv on the day. She died on the 3 May her funeral cost nearly £4000 so she had a bargain my husband and I will do the same it was so easy to arrange the Co-op were great and no stress at all. So although a policy may be rubbish a bond is great.
 

Not so Rosy

Registered User
Nov 30, 2013
578
0
My Dad has a few Parker pens !

The LA wouldn't take the monthly payments into account when calculating his contribution for care home fees.