Funeral Cover for Pensioners

There are four common routes. You can join a plan built for older people. You can take standalone cover with an insurer whose age limit still allows you. An adult child or another relative can add you as a parent to their policy. Or you can join a burial society, see funeral policy vs burial society. Check the oldest age at which each insurer takes a new member before you apply, because it decides which routes are open to you.

AVBOB's optional R2 000 extra cover costs R30, R40 or R50 a month for the same three age bands. It pays for municipal grave costs, cremation fees, payments to church officials, fresh flowers and the cost of removing or amending an existing tombstone. AVBOB's monthly premiums for R8 000 of cover are R150 at ages 65 to 74, R180 at 75 to 79 and R220 at 80 to 84.

These are the oldest ages at which each insurer says a main member can join. They are the published limits, not a promise of acceptance.

Sanlam says its online plan has no age limit on how long the policy runs, so cover does not end at a set age once you have joined.

If you are too old to join in your own name, an adult child can add you as a parent. Several insurers accept parents to 84 or 85: Sanlam and Capitec to 85, Old Mutual, Standard Bank and Liberty to 84. Metropolitan says lives covered must be younger than 85. Hollard and Finchoice accept parents to 75.

Cover per parent differs. Capitec covers parents aged 26 to 85 for R50 000 each, Liberty covers parents for R5 000 to R80 000 each, and Metropolitan covers parents and extended family up to R50 000. See funeral cover for extended family and funeral cover for parents for the limits. The main member's premium pays for you, so the family needs to keep it up.

Premiums rise with age, so affordability on a fixed income is the main concern. The published examples above show the pattern: AVBOB's R150 a month rises to R220 for the same R8 000 at ages 80 to 84, and Affinity's R10 000 cover costs R308 a month at ages 70 to 75. Insurers quote your own price, so ask for a written quote.

Ask about yearly increases. Clientele says premiums escalate by 10% and benefits by 6% each year. FNB says premiums rise 8% and cover 5% each year, and that cover stops increasing at age 65. OUTsurance raises premiums 5% a year, and Capitec says it has no automatic annual premium increase.

A lapse can leave a family with nothing. If a premium is missed, the insurer must tell you within 15 days, and monthly cover stays in force for 15 days after the due date. Some plans let you pause: Old Mutual allows up to six missed premiums through premium holidays, and OUTsurance lets you pause for up to three months. Choose a premium you can keep paying comfortably.

For natural death the waiting period can be at most six months, and no waiting period may apply to death from an accident. AVBOB's once-off pensioner payment has none once the policy is issued and the payment received. If you already had cover elsewhere and served the waiting period, a new insurer may not impose another for similar risks on the same person. AVBOB and Capitec describe how they apply this when your earlier cover was active within 31 days.

Be careful with any plan that promises no waiting period for older people. Read exactly what is covered in the early months, and check that the seller is authorised. See funeral cover scams and your rights.

Work out a realistic amount with the funeral cover calculator worksheet. It lists municipal fees and cost estimates, and each is attributed to its source. Aim for enough to pay for the funeral you want, not the largest amount on offer.

Other money may help. For a former government employee, the GEPF pays R20 000 for a pensioner or spouse for deaths after 31 March 2024. It is taxable, cannot be paid until SARS issues a tax directive, and is not paid to an undertaker directly. SASSA has no separate funeral grant, but if the grant was not withdrawn in the month of death, the family member who paid for the funeral can claim the unclaimed amount.

A pensioner can take standalone cover, be added to a family member's plan or join a burial society. A regulated policy gives cover from a licensed insurer, while a society depends on its own rules and regulation. Many families combine a policy with a society for help on the day. Whichever you choose, put the policy papers, the beneficiary's name and the insurer's claims number where your family can find them.