Funeral Bonds
A funeral bond is a financial investment that is dedicated to saving for your funeral expenses.
No aspect of the funeral is pre-selected, you simply make contributions over time so that your family has access to funds to pay for your funeral when the time comes.
Watch this helpful video to understand more about funeral bonds.
Answers to common questions about Funeral Bonds
Are bonds like funeral insurance?
A funeral bond is NOT like Funeral Insurance. If you stop making payments towards your funeral bond you will not lose your money, unlike funeral insurance.
Funeral Insurance requires monthly premiums, which can increase significantly after you turn 50 and many do not provide refunds if you miss a payment. With funeral bonds, you make instalments that suit your budget, weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.
What is the difference between a funeral bond and a pre-paid funeral?
A funeral bond doesn’t lock you into any specifics to do with a funeral service, it simply makes funds available to your family, at the time of your passing. This gives your family the freedom to design a meaningful tribute and funeral service for you, rather than being locked into a pre-paid and pre-arranged funeral that may no longer be suitable.
How much can I have in my funeral bond?
There is no limit to how much can be invested in a funeral bond.
Funeral Bonds and Centrelink
One of the favourable advantages of funeral bonds is that $15,000 per individual is exempt from Centrelink means testing. This allows you to reduce your assessable assets for the Services Australia means test and potentially may make you eligible for part or all of the aged care pension. We strongly recommend you seek professional financial advice to clarify your own situation and determine if this is the right choice for you.
What if I stop making contributions?
Who Can Take Out a Bond?
People usually decide to take out their own funeral bonds and prepare for their own passing.
It is possible to invest in a bond with another person, typically a spouse or partner. When investing on the behalf of another person there may be technicalities to overcome. Please contact our team at Rankins Funerals to discuss this further.
How Safe are Funeral Bonds?
Funds held in the Foresters Funeral Benefit Fund may only be invested in a manner as specified in the Fund Rules and the Life Insurance Act 1995. Foresters Financial is also regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (‘APRA’).
Let's have coffee
We have a dedicated specialist who can meet with you to answer all your questions about how to plan ahead for your funeral. To make an appointment contact Rankins Funerals on 02 4276 1000.
*All funeral bonds through Rankins Funerals are managed by Foresters Financial - an independent financial entity. Foresters Financial are an Australian company with origins going back over 200 years. They are a registered company under the Life Insurance Act and specialise in funeral-related finance.