Age UK Funeral Plans

Who are Age UK?

Age UK are a registered charity, set up to support older people in later life. They help millions of people know their rights and help them make the best choices in later life. They are also very active in tackling loneliness, campaigning and research. They used to be known as “Help the Aged” and “Age Concern”.

As well as help and support they also have a financial services arm which offer pre-paid funeral plans. They sell funeral plans under the brand “Age Co Funeral Plans”. The plans are provided by Dignity, who are the largest funeral plan provider in the UK.

Compare Age UK Funeral Plans

So, you may be wondering what funeral plans Age UK offer and how they compare to the rest of the market.

Age UK offer 4 different funeral plans.

Each plan has a different level of service to the others. They are all currently reasonably priced. But I would recommend that you make sure you shop around to get the best value for yourself at the time, we can help you with that.

Let’s explore the different options:

They have split their plans into 4. They have named these: Basic, Ivy, Holly and Rowan.

Basic

Their Basic Plan covers what you would expect from a normal funeral plan.

• Funeral Director and staff to attend the service
• Basic Coffin
• A hearse
• Funeral procession from home/funeral home to a service location
• Mutual agreement on the time and day of the funeral during normal office hours
• The cremation fee (or £1,220 towards burial costs, plot and Minister’s fees)
• Special requests
• 24 Hour Customer Service

Ivy

The Ivy Plan covers all of the features you see above in the Basic plan but also adds one notable extra.

• Ability to make additional contributions towards special requests during the lifetime of the Plan. Any contribution will increase in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI)An upgraded coffin

For the increase in price, we would recommend that you choose the Basic plan over the Ivy plan.

Holly

The Holly Plan covers all of the features you see in the Basic Plan and the Ivy Plan but adds on some extras which really are worthwhile.

• A limousine for family members/friends – this is not included in the Basic Plan or the Ivy Plan
• Complimentary thank you cards

Rowan

The Rowan Plan is the highest specification plan that Age UK offer. It is quite an increase in cost, but the extra benefits your family would receive are quite substantial.

• 24/7 access to the chapel of rest
• Two limousines for family members/friends
• The highest quality coffin

As you can see, Age UK offer a wide range of funeral plans for quite a reasonable cost. You know their reputation is strong as they are part of a group which helps millions of people. But as funeral plans are tailor-made, check our free quoting tool to see what would fit your needs best.

Have Age UK Funeral Plans got good customer feedback?

At the time of writing, they have got very good feedback for their customer service. They collect reviews through Feefo, which is a reputable review website. We only noticed one negative feedback, which was a 2 out of 5 ranking.

It appears the reason for the bad review is because the person applied for information by post and received a phone call instead. Age UK apologised for this and asked the prospective customer to contact them when they were ready.

What happens if I take out an Age UK Funeral Plan?

After you take out your new plan with Age UK, you will receive a Planholder Pack within 14 days. This will contain your:

• Funeral Plan Schedule – this will let you know the name of your new Plan and your payment schedule (if you have decided to split you payments over monthly installments)
• Key Features Document – this will explain in full all of the key features of your new Plan. It will also talk in detail about the benefits of the particular Funeral Plan that you have picked, whilst covering any exclusions that you are not covered for
• Services Document – a full list of what services are included in your plan
• Funeral Organiser Pack – this is a pack which will be passed on to the organised of the funeral, usually a family member or friend. It will also include all the advice and help needed to organise the funeral
• Spare Special Request Form – this form is sent to you so you can make changes to your special requests at a later date, if you would like to
• Bereavement Counselling and Support – all of the details to access this service will be included in your pack

Where do Age UK keep their clients money?

Any payments made into a Age UK Funeral Plan is held in the Age UK Trust and is kept completely separately from any other money. This ensure the payout is quick when it is needed and protected from company affairs. It is also completely separate from the nominated funeral director. This is the best way to do it because if the funeral director goes out of business for whatever reason, the funeral is not affected. They will only release the funds to the funeral director after the funeral has taken place.

Do they offer any more guarantees?

Yes, they offer guarantees for price, service and a guarantee that they will never charge fees if you were to cancel the plan at any time.

Price Guarantee

They guarantee that once you start the plan, they will never increase the cost. This is important, especially in this day and age as some companies have started to increase the costs of products in line with inflation. This guarantees that this will never happen.

They also agree if you opt for a cremation, there will never be any further costs.

Service Guarantee

They guarantee a compassionate and professional funeral. They use a network of very highly experienced Funeral Directors, most of them are family run businesses who have been doing it for generations.

100% Money Back Guarantee

There are no cancellation fees. If you ever need to cancel the plan, you will receive all of the money you have paid into the plan back.

These guarantees go above and beyond the minimum expected for a funeral plan.

Are Age Co registered with the Funeral Planning Authority (FPA)?

Yes they are. Age Co are registered under their Limited Company name “Advance Planning Limited”. You can view their registration by clicking here.

The FPA is the only regulator of funeral plan companies in the United Kingdom.

What payment options are available?

You can either:

• pay for the full amount in one single payment by card, cheque or bank transfer
• spread the payments over 12 months with no interest or additional charges
• spread the payments over a period of longer than 12 months, but you would incur additional interest charges. Please note that the plan must be fully paid by the time you are 85. But you can make additional payments into the plan at any time, which would reduce this interest charge.

If there are instalments left to pay at the time of death, your funeral can still take place how you detail in your Plan. Your family would have to pay the remainder of the money owed on the plan. If your family decide to cancel the plan, all money that you have paid in would be paid to them.

What if I have a complaint with Age Co?

If you would like to make a complaint about an Age Co Funeral Plan we would recommend that you call them immediately on 0800 0334732.

If you would prefer to write to them, you can write to them here:
4 King Edwards Court,
King Edwards Square,
Sutton Coldfield,
West Midlands,
B73 6AP

Alternatively, you can email them on:
agecofuneralplan@dignityuk.co.uk