Pre-purchase for life’s big certainty

HOW’S your end-of-financial year to-do list looking?

Tax deductions done? Check. Superannuation sorted? Check? Grave site pre-purchased? Whaaaaaaaat?

Prepaying for funeral sites is growing in popularity as Australians become more willing to discuss death. It can help retirees potentially boost their pension payments, and might even be a successful – though weird – investment.

Both in their 60s, Rossana and Michael Parletta recently pre-purchased their burial site after speaking with a friend who had done the same.

“My husband and I decided to purchase our burial site ahead of time to make it easier for our children when we are no longer here,” said Mrs Parletta, 63.

She said she thought most people were unaware of pre-purchasing memorial sites.

“It’s important to start thinking about your funeral arrangements – how you’d like to go and where you’d like to be buried.”

Site costs vary between states and cemeteries but as a guide, a 50-year lease on a cremation garden site can cost around $5000, a burial site from $6000 and a mausoleum from around $30,000.

And if you change your mind, there may be a chance to transfer it to someone else, sell it back to the cemetery, or potentially profit from selling it later if the site’s value increases. Pensioners can potentially boost their income by reducing their assets counted under Centrelink’s assets test if they put money into their future grave. The Department of Human Services does not assess burial plots, no matter how much they cost. “You don’t need to tell us if you own one,” its website says.

Robert Pitt, chief executive of Adelaide Cemeteries Authority, said cemetery fees could be in addition to the $12,750 that was exempt from assets testing by people who prepaid funerals or bought funeral bonds.

He said Australians had become more willing to make plans for the end of their lives to ease the financial burden on family members. “People are taking control of their funeral, and choosing their final resting place so they can be buried alongside family or friends, or in a specific location of the cemetery.”

Mr Pitt said people who prepaid funeral costs should read the fine print and understand what they were paying for.

“Know where your funeral funds are being held – in the event a funeral director or cemetery is sold or goes out of business,” he said.

“Tell a family member or friend your wishes, and what you have purchased.”