FUNERAL PLANS – REVISED

FCA Regulation

You may have seen recent media coverage around the impact of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) regulation of Pre-Paid Funeral plans and we’d like to address and clarify the position of Golden Charter’s application for FCA regulation to hopefully help with any reservations you may have.

We’d like to reassure you that we are fully aware of the changes in funeral plan regulation, and are working closely with our plan provider Golden Charter to prepare for the changes. Golden Charter has always been clear that it welcomes greater supervision of the market and was one of the first organisations to submit an application to the FCA. At the time of writing, the FCA has still to publish the outcome of any application, but we, and Golden Charter, are confident that, as one of the big three established funeral plan providers, they will be amongst the first to be approved You can view the status of funeral plan company FCA applications at www.fca.org.uk/consumers/funeral-plans/providers-list. The webpage is updated regularly.

Until the market becomes formally regulated, protection will continue to be provided to all Golden Charter plan holders by the Funeral Planning Authority (FPA). Golden Charter were a founder member of the FPA so you can be reassured that you’ll remain protected until the market moves under the supervision of the FCA on 29 July 2022.

Golden Charter plan holders’ funds are held securely in The Golden Charter Trust, and ring-fenced for future funerals to provide additional protection. The Golden Charter Trust is one of the largest and most transparent trusts in the sector, with full details of funds held and how they are managed available at www.goldenchartertrust.co.uk

With something so important, we want to reassure you that your instructions and funeral funds are safe and fully protected. If you would like to discuss you concerns further with Golden Charter, you can contact them on 0800 833 800. Should you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours Sincerely,

Jonathan M. Stamp

J. Stamp & Sons

Taking the decision to plan your own funeral is a thoughtful way of saving your family the trouble of planning a funeral whilst still dealing with your loss. If you decide to pay for your funeral in advance, not only will you be saving family and friends the trouble and potential anxiety of having to make arrangements they hope you would have wanted, but you will also alleviate any financial burden that may fall on others.

The cost of funerals is rising year on year, so you and your loved ones will also benefit from being able to pay at today’s prices for a funeral which will take place sometime in the future. At J Stamp & Sons we offer personalised pre-paid funeral arrangements through Golden Charter, with the ability to personalise every element of the funeral to your requirements. We work closely with Golden Charter who are the largest provider of Funeral Plans for Independent Funeral Directors and you can be assured that your wishes will be taken care of. 

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Please contact us to receive further information or request a brochure about our personalised Funeral Pre-Payment Plan. We recommend making an appointment to discuss your own arrangements in confidence.