A funeral plan is an easy way to arrange the funeral you want in advance. A prepayment plan allows you to specify your wishes and pay for the funeral director’s services included in your plan. As customers often tell us, that can bring peace of mind to you and your family. A plan from Golden Charter also includes an allowance towards third party costs. These are essential, non-funeral director services such as the cremation or burial fees, plus the minister or officiant’s fee to perform the service.
At James Ashton & Son Ltd, we work in partnership with Golden Charter to provide you with a simple way to plan ahead. As one of the UK’s largest funeral plan providers*, Golden Charter has helped 900,000 people make funeral provisions** so we’re completely confident in offering their plans to you.
Everyone has different needs when it comes to funeral planning, so we make sure the plans we offer are as flexible as possible. When you get in touch, we’ll be happy to discuss your funeral requirements and tailor a plan to suit you. Rest assured a plan from Golden Charter is available to all UK residents regardless of age or state of health.
*Based on a Golden Charter analysis and independent research of the funeral plan market size as at January 2023.
**Correct at March 2023.
With a Golden Charter funeral plan, you can pay for your plan in several ways. Spread the cost or make a one-off payment – simply choose the one that’s right for you. We will provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision.
The retail price of your funeral plan is representative of the equivalent cost of a funeral today plus an arrangement fee of £325 which is retained by Golden Charter to help cover the costs of setting up your plan.
Your payments are held within the Golden Charter Trust. With £1.2 billion under management,1 the Trust is operated by a Board of Trustees, completely independent of Golden Charter. Their role is to hold your payments and ensure that the funeral director services in your plan can be paid for at the time they are required – however far into the future that may be. For more information on how your payments are protected, please visit goldencharter.co.uk/faqs
1 Confirmed by Golden Charter Trust’s audited accounts at 31 March 2022.
Our funeral director’s services will be covered in your funeral plan, which means our fees will be fixed at today’s prices. These services typically include:
Although a pre-paid funeral plan can cover all of the services above, there are some additional third party costs to consider. These are the costs for essential, non-funeral director services required to carry out a cremation or burial which need to be paid at the time of the funeral. These costs are outside our control. Depending on the plan type chosen, a Golden Charter funeral plan can include a contribution towards some third party costs. They may include:
Other third party costs that may be associated with a funeral include:
There will only be more to pay at the time of the funeral if the third party costs exceed the allowance when you buy your plan, or if the costs increase by more than the growth of your plan. Even if prices rise in the future, once your plan is paid for, you’ll have the reassurance of knowing there’ll be nothing more to pay for our services included in the plan – guaranteed.
A funeral prepayment plan allows the living to prepare for death. By paying into a plan during your life, upon your death the plan will provide peace of mind that your family will not be met with unexpected costs and financial anxiety, and will ensure that your funeral is conducted as you wish.
Our funeral director will meet with you to discuss the type of funeral you would like. When you have decided on the details of your chosen funeral, we will then calculate the cost at today’s price which will then be the price you pay for the plan.
Yes, your arrangements can be changed at any time. Should extra items be added, the flexibility of the plan allows these items to be costed at the time of the additions.
Whilst our own charges are guaranteed, third-party costs such as cremation fee, interment fee or fee to clergy are not.
These third-party fees are beyond our control. These costs are indexed and therefore the costs that a family pays is the cost at the time of the funeral, less the original amounts in the plan that have been indexed. Any costs that might be subject to change will be clearly identified during your meeting with our funeral directors.
If you wish to spread the cost of paying for a plan, a period of one year is allowed with no interest charge payable, provided the plan is paid in full within the year. If payment is over more than one year, then the total amount payable will be subject to interest charges.
Should a client’s death occur before the plan is paid in full, the funeral will take place exactly as planned, and any outstanding amount would be payable by the next of kin or from the plan holder’s estate.
If you would like to get more information or have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch and we'll be happy to help.