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The Funeral Trust has been specifically designed to help you set money aside for your final farewell or for your loved one.

Your contributions will be held on trust by the Trustee until they are needed, in accordance with the terms of The Funeral Trust’s Trust Deed. This reduces money worries for families and avoids them having to go through any legal requirements to access money from an estate to pay for the funeral.

As a recognised funeral plan contributions up to $10,000 are currently exempt from asset testing when assessing eligibility for a subsidy for long-term residential care.

Under a Funeral Trust Plan:

  • You can contribute towards the cost of your own funeral expenses or those of a loved one. You can also set up a joint plan.
  • You can contribute via a lump sum or by regular payments.
  • You won’t pay any account fees. The Trustee deducts the costs, charges and expenses of administration of the Funeral Trust, including taxation, from the earnings on funds held in Trust.
  • The Trustee will seek to maintain the purchasing power of payments made. As it is not an investment product no returns are promised.
  • Any money remaining in the Plan will be paid to the deceased’s estate once the funeral director’s invoice has been paid. If a joint account is held, at the survivor’s election, remaining money can be left in the Plan for the survivor’s funeral or be repaid to the deceased’s estate at the time.
  • If prepaid funds do not cover the funeral costs the funeral director will make arrangements with the family or estate of the deceased for payment of the balance.
  • You may not request a withdrawal unless the Trustee, in its sole discretion, has approved the withdrawal in cases of significant financial hardship or permanent immigration of the person for whom payments have been made.
  • As it is not an insurance policy no health checks are required.

The Funeral Trust is offered by the Funeral Directors Association. The Association covers approximately three quarters of the funeral homes in New Zealand giving you a wide selection of funeral directors to work with.

Funeral Directors Association members meet strict standards of professionalism and care. Your local Association funeral director can work with you to help you decide the right amount to set aside and can also help with pre-arranging the funeral service details. You can change to another Association member at any time

For further information on the Funeral Trust Plan, including all terms and conditions, please contact your funeral director.