Shield your loved ones from financial stress at a time of loss

With the right approach, ensure your family is protected at your time of passing.

A Funeral Bond can provide incredible peace of mind for you and your loved ones by having funds set aside and readily available to pay for funeral arrangements.

By design, the amount is only paid when the insured person dies, guaranteeing the funds can only be released ready for funeral expenses.

The added benefit is up to $15,000 (current allowable limit set by the Government as of July 2023), that can be exempt from Centrelink Asset assessments and could support a strategy to optimise entitlements.

An investment in protection and peace of mind

Louise and Glen are a married couple who have been retired for a few years. They are thinking about their own mortality after Louise recently lost her mother and their friends faced cancer treatments.

It was up to Louise to organise the funeral arrangements when her mother died. Nothing was arranged before she passed, and no money had been put aside to pay for anything.

Louise found the whole experience very stressful balancing between what was affordable and what she knew her mum would love. She didn’t want this added stress for her own children (or each other).

Louise is mindful that they receive a partial pension and wants to make sure a Funeral Bond won’t affect that. In her mind, they have the money – it is about making sure it is kept for the funeral and can be easy to access when needed.

The secure way to prepare for funeral expenses

A Funeral Bond was a secure way to prepare for funeral expenses and ensure that the funds were used as intended.

• Louise and Glen had the option to take out a joint Funeral Bond, where the money would be released to the surviving spouse to use for funeral expenses, but they decided to each take a bond out.
• This meant, both Louise and Glen were each a life insured as they did not want to leave the financial burden on the surviving partner to start a new Funeral Bond.
• Louise and Glen deposited $10,000 into each Funeral Bond and plan to add $75 each month into each Bond until they hit the current allowable limit of $15,000 (as at 1 July 2023) it does not count in the assets test for their pension payments.
• The Funeral Bond is a tax-effective option for them as the tax is paid within the investment and any earnings will not count towards their income.
• By putting a lump sum amount into the Funeral Bond, they reduced their joint assets, which increased the amount of part pension they were eligible to receive.
• They chose the Balanced investment option as they were aiming to keep up with the rise in the cost of living with their investments.
• Easy access to funds when needed, no need to wait for the Estate to be settled.

Louise and Glen felt a sense of relief knowing that there were funds put aside to pay for their funeral expenses. They are happy their family won’t have to worry about how to pay for anything and that a side effect of having the bond was that it positively impacted their pension.

This information is intended to be general in nature and was prepared without considering your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Please consider the information contained in the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination before deciding to acquire the products. Please obtain independent professional advice from a qualified financial adviser, registered tax agent or lawyer before making any decisions. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future investment returns. Tax laws may change in the future which may affect an investor’s tax outcomes. While all reasonable care has been taken in producing the information, to the extent permitted by law, Foresters Financial makes no representations and gives no warranties of any kind in respect of the accuracy or completeness of the information.

Financial services are provided by Foresters Financial Limited (ABN 27 087 648 842, AFS Licence No. 241421).