41% of people haven’t
planned financially for
later life
national UK charities, including
British Red Cross, Child Bereavement
UK, Cruse Bereavement Care, Dying
Matters, Remember a Charity and
Sue Ryder to drive social change on
how we can approach the subject of
death.
Death taboo causes financial hardship for
4 million Brits
A fear of discussing death is leading to a lack of later life planning
across the nation. That’s the findings of the UK’s biggest ever survey
into death and bereavement carried out by Co-op Funeralcare
recently. Two fifths (41%) of people haven’t put any financial plans
such as wills, funeral plans or lasting power of attorney in place.*
According to
Co-op’s data,
the average
cost of a funeral
now stands at
£3,900
As a means of understanding the nation’s attitudes and
getting to grips with what is putting people off planning
ahead, Co-op launched the biggest ever survey into death,
dying and bereavement earlier this year. The survey, which
received a vast response, reveals that 18 million people are
uncomfortable talking about death, dying and bereavement.
As a result, the majority (95%) of people don’t have a funeral
plan, three quarters (73%) haven’t written a will and 94% say
they have not nominated a lasting power of attorney.
The survey reveals that due to a lack of financial planning for later life, four million people
have experienced financial hardship as a result of someone’s death.**
For the minority of people who have planned for later life, a quarter (25%) said their age
was the reason for doing so, a further quarter (25%) said it was attending someone else’s
funeral that made them consider their own mortality and for a
fifth (21%) putting a will in place prompted them to think about
81% of people
other plans.
For the fifth (19%) of people who have saved for later life, only
one in seven (15%) have saved more than £2,000 and the
majority of people under thirty haven’t saved anything at all.
In response to these findings, Co-op is working with key
28
The Society of Will Writers
haven’t saved
anything
towards a
funeral
Fully guaranteed funeral plans with our unique
Co-op Commitment
4 million
people have
experienced
financial
hardship as
a result of
someone’s death
From just £2,995†, you can reduce the financial burden on
your family by protecting them from unexpected bills and the
worry of not knowing what your final wishes are, by planning
and paying for your funeral plan in advance.
Our funeral plans come with our unique Co-op Commitment††
meaning we’ll still cover the cost of your chosen funeral plan,
even if you die before you’ve paid in full. And because it’s fully
guaranteed^, your family have no more to pay for the services
included in your plan. Services which, you can rest assured,
will be personally planned and carried out by us.
Contact the Society of Will Writers for further details
Tel: 01522 68 78 88
Email: [email protected]
* Terms & conditions: Co-op’s biggest ever survey into death dying and bereavement was conducted by YouGov from 7th May to 25th June 2018 among over
30,000 UK adults. Further detail on the study can be found in Co-op’s media report.
**Population figures calculated by the Co-op, based on YouGov figures.
†The offline price of a Simple funeral plan is £2,995.
††The Co-op Commitment applies if you are paying in instalments over 2-25 years and 1 year has passed since the start date, instalments must be paid up to
date and your funeral must be carried out by one of our Funeral Directors.
^As prices and availability vary across the UK, Co-op burial plans do not include the cost of buying a grave.
The Promoter is Funeral Services Limited (30808R) trading as Co-op Funeralcare, with registered office at 1 Angel Square, Manchester, M60 0AG. Full terms
and conditions can be found at www.co-operativefuneralcare.co.uk/terms-and-conditions
The Society of Will Writers
29