Golden Charter Funeral Plans

Golden Charter has been involved in prepaid funeral plans for a very long time and was one of first companies to offer prepaid funeral plans and also support to funeral directors to offer better value for money. After more than 20 years of offering prepaid funeral plans, Golden Charter claim to be the leading provider of prepaid plans to independent funeral directors in the UK. They have some good points and not so good points and hopefully this article will give you a good idea of what Golden Charter Funeral Plans can offer you.

Here at Reynolds Financial we deal with numerous funeral plan providers to make sure you get the best option for you based on your circumstances, budget and different ways to pay. If you want a completely independent review we can be contacted on 01633 838097 or by clicking here to complete our form.

To start with Golden Charter Funeral Plans are very transparent about their financial position and they have a specific website for information on their trust fund. One of the first questions we are often asked is, “Is our money safe and how is it protected.” To answer that question Golden Charter Funeral Plans, like most of the other big plan providers, put your money into a trust fund that is accessible by your next of kin along with a copy of the death certificate. Regardless of if the funeral director or Golden Charter are no longer trading the trust is a completely separate entity. More information regarding their trust can be found at the bottom of this article.

Golden Charter have a large number of independent funeral directors up and down the UK but it is important to look at the difference between their plans and what each one covers. What may be important for you may not be so important for someone else hence we hope this review will help narrow down your choices. Golden Charter Prepaid Funeral Plan Prices *as of October 2020

Golden Charter Value Funeral Plan – £2,895
This is their reduced plan with certain restrictions such as only £800 towards third party disbursements and a basic coffin. There is also no funeral procession to the location and the funeral will be at the time and date given and not at your choice. This would normally be early morning. There is also no limousines for the family. Although not ideal they are certainly better than nothing.

Golden Charter Standard Funeral Plan – £3,495
This plan is where “normal” funerals as we would expect them to be start. The funeral directors costs are guaranteed and there is a much more realistic amount of £1,100 allowance towards third party costs. You also get the funeral procession to the location and can choose the time and date of the funeral. A hearse to transport the body however you must be aware that it does not include any following limousines for the family.

Golden Charter Select Funeral Plan – £3,850
This is the same as their Standard Plan but crucially includes one limousine for the immediate family. It also includes an upgraded coffin and 24 hour collection of the deceased body.

Golden Charter Premier Funeral Plan – £4.099
Out of all the Golden Charter Funeral Plans provided by them this is their high end plan. It includes all of the above plus an extra limousine and a top of the range coffin.

They could quite possibly be right for you but why risk it. Talk to us and we can run through the different options available to make sure you make the right choice for you and your family. Golden Charter are one of the biggest prepaid funeral plan providers and we deal with these plus numerous other plan providers. Together we can make sure that Golden Charter is the right prepaid funeral plan for you.

There are lots of other things to discuss before a recommendation can be made. That’s why we offer a free no obligation initial chat to find out what plan and budget would be right for you. Also different providers may have different offers available throughout the year and sometimes this could tip the scales in their favour and save you some money

The trust into which payments are made is a financially separate fund run by an independent board of Trustees. This in essence makes sure that your money is going to be available when needed. As we mentioned above even if the funeral directors or Golden Charter themselves ceased to exist, the trust would continue in its separate entity. All of the big prepaid funeral plan providers would have similar arrangements.

In accordance with the rules of the Funeral Planning Authority, the majority of the trustees must have no connection with Golden Charter. Four of the five trustees are completely independent and the fifth is an executive member of the SAIF Charter Association and a non-executive director of Golden Charter.

He provides the link between the funeral directors, the company, and the Trust.

The trustees have a duty to comply with the trusts main responsibility which is to make sure there are sufficient funds to pay the funeral directors. In addition, the Trust employs an Executive Director, Risk & Compliance Manager and Finance Manager who have responsibility for managing the legal, financial and administration affairs of the Trust on a day-to-day basis. The accounts of the Trust and its subsidiary, The Golden Charter Trust Limited, are prepared annually and are audited by Grant Thornton LLP. The subsidiary company’s accounts are lodged at Companies House