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Your retirement allows you to enjoy your twilight years, but it’s important to begin retirement planning as early as possible to ensure you make the most of it.

A Retirement Plan is key to ensuring you’re financially comfortable. During your retirement years, your main source of income is your pension, so you should consider how and when you’d like to draw it into your retirement planning. It doesn’t have to be as soon as you hit retirement age, and you can take it in one large instalment, rather than monthly, should you wish. 

You might also want to consider what will happen to you if your health fails and factor this into your retirement planning. You can earmark reserves for this purpose and detail your wishes in your retirement plan to relieve some of the financial and emotional burden for your family.  

Purchasing a funeral plan should also be included in your retirement planning. This enables you to plan and pay for your funeral in advance, giving you peace of mind that you get the send off you want at a price you can afford. It also removes your family’s emotional and financial burden and ensures you lock in the Funeral Director’s service at today’s prices.

Retirement planning also involves writing a Will to ensure that your final wishes regarding your assets are adhered to. Your Will is a legally binding document that specifies how your possessions should be shared amongst loved ones after your death. It removes any ambiguity of how this should be achieved, and prevents the responsibility lying with anyone else; after all, no one really knows how you want your money, home, and sentimental items that you’ve accrued over the years distributed but you. 

How you want to spend your retirement is down to you, and retirement planning will ensure you get the most out of this time. See how Capital Life can help you plan for your retirement by speaking to one of our advisors about our funeral plans and free Inheritance Planning review; contact us or call 0800 411 8683.

We can also assist you with Inheritance Planning, Probate and LPAs.

Inheritance planning is incredibly important to ensure your assets – your property, possessions and money – are shared out how you would like amongst your loved ones when you pass away.

Writing a Will should be included in your inheritance planning; it enables you to specify how your earthly possessions should be distributed upon your death. At this stage of inheritance planning, you should also name an executor responsible for dealing with your estate and paying your inheritance tax.

Inheritance tax is a tax on the deceased’s estate, their total assets, including cash, investments, property, cars, etc. How much is paid depends on the value of their estate. If it is below £325,000, or you leave everything to your spouse or partner, it’s unlikely they will have to pay any tax. However, if neither applies, your estate will be taxed at 40% on anything above the threshold.

You can’t get out of paying inheritance tax, but inheritance planning can help you reduce the likelihood of the thresholds being exceeded, to maximise the amount your loved ones receive. 

One way to reduce the value of your estate is to give gifts to your loved ones; cash, a possession or even property can all be considered a gift, and are not subject to inheritance tax (unless they exceed the threshold limits). You can distribute gifts up to the value of £3,000 in the UK each year, with gifts to charities, your spouse or partner potentially exempt from Capital Gain Tax (a tax on an item when you sell it on).

But inheritance and the concept of inheritance tax can be tricky. Inheritance planning and understanding inheritance tax and all the different allowances and rules can ensure that your loved ones receive the maximum amount of inheritance.

Start inheritance planning early; writing a Will and funeral plan can also help you plan for what should happen after your death. Contact us now or call 0800 411 8683 and one of our friendly advisors will be happy to guide you through the process.

We can also assist you with LPAs and Probate.

Christmas is a joyous and celebratory occasion, but it can also be an incredibly difficult time for those who have lost a loved one. Remembering a loved one at Christmas can help keep them close by and in your thoughts.

There are many ways of remembering a loved one at Christmas, whether you lost them recently, or a while ago. The first Christmas may be hard, and although it may never get easier, remembering a loved one at Christmas can make the festive period a little more manageable.

Remembering a loved one at Christmas could simply involve doing the things they loved, or continuing one of their Christmas traditions, like baking cookies, watching their favourite festive movies, or singing their favourite song. 

Remembering a loved one at Christmas might also involve sharing anecdotes of the happy times you had with your loved ones with the rest of your family, or simply raising a glass in their honour. You could keep a festive photo of them nearby to evoke happy memories, or perhaps light a candle in their memory.

Instead, you could include one of their festive ornaments among your tree decorations, or make a personalised one – perhaps including a photo – which you can use year after year to help with remembering a loved one at Christmas. 

If a tree decoration doesn’t appeal, you could always make a memorial, perhaps a Christmas wreath or something more permanent like a memorial garden. This can give you a place to go to remember a loved one, not just a Christmas, but throughout the year.

If you’d like to help your family leave a memorial to help with remembering a loved one at Christmas, consider leaving instructions in your Will or earmarking funds in your funeral plan, which allows you to plan and pay for your funeral in advance, easing the financial and emotional burden on your family. 

If you’d like to see how a Capital Life funeral plan could help you, contact us now or call 0800 411 8683 and one of our friendly advisors will be happy to help. We can also help with Inheritance Planning, Probate and LPAs.

Writing a Will is essential to ensuring that your assets – your property, possessions and money – are distributed in the manner you wish after you have passed away.

As a legal document, your will is binding and serves to remove any ambiguity of how you want your possessions to be shared amongst your family and loved ones. Writing a will is particularly important if you have a young family because it enables you to nominate legal guardians for your children if you pass away. 

If you die without writing a will, then the law determines who inherits what, and if applicable, who will look after your children, regardless of what you want. It can be quite a complex process, but writing a will can eliminate this intricacy, ensuring that your wishes will be carried out to the letter after your death. After all, no one really knows how you want your money, home, and any sentimental items you’ve accrued over the years distributed. So, writing a will means this responsibility doesn’t lie with anyone other than yourself. 

Before your will is considered legally valid, it must explain exactly how your possessions, assets and money should be divided when you die. Your Will must have been written when you were able to make your own informed decisions; and is required to be written in the presence of two witnesses not set to inherit from you, who must then sign it.

Capital Life offers a free Inheritance Planning review service as part of their prepaid funeral plan service, to give you the peace of mind that both your funeral plans will be sorted, and that your assets will be distributed fairly and how you would have wanted.

Capital Life has a number of funeral plans to suit all budgets and preferences. If you’d like to talk to us about a Funeral Plan or arranging a free Inheritance Planning review, contact us now or call 0800 411 8683 and one of our friendly advisors will be happy to help. 

You can also ask us about Inheritance Planning, Probate and LPAs, our experts are happy to help.

It’s never too early to start thinking about how you’ll fund your retirement and later life. With life expectancy at an all-time high, more of us are living long into our twilight years, meaning our finances have to stretch further. Careful later life financial planning will help ensure you’re financially comfortable for the rest of your life. 

When reaching retirement, your pension becomes your main source of income, and if you live for a long time, it could have to stretch quite far! So, it’s wise to review your current pension choices and consider how and when you’d like to receive it as part of your later life financial planning.

Investing in a funeral plan should also be included in your later life financial planning. A funeral plan is a secure way of financing your funeral and allows you to lock in services at today’s prices, thus protecting against future inflation. It also allows you to arrange the entire service in advance, giving you – and your family – peace of mind, knowing that you will get the farewell you want.

Writing a Will can also help with later life financial planning; it details how you’d like your estate to be shared amongst your loved ones, removing any ambiguity over such matters. At the same time, you may also want to consider appointing a Power of Attorney to act on your behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matters.

Another important aspect of later life financial planning is to consider how you’d cope with failing health and how to fund long-term care should you need it. Earmarking reserves for this purpose and detailing your wishes could relieve some of your family’s financial and emotional burden.  

It’s never too early to start later life financial planning, and making important decisions regarding your future finances, retirement, healthcare and funeral will ease some of the strain from your family. 

To see how a Capital Life funeral plan can help with later life financial planning, contact us now or call 0800 411 8683 and one of our friendly advisors will be happy to help. We can also help with Inheritance Planning, Probate and LPAs.

What’s on your bucket list of things to do before 50? Maybe you’d like to try sky diving, learn to ballroom dance or simply do some charity work before you hit this significant landmark in life. 

But nestled amongst these enjoyable and entertaining things to do before 50 should be some necessary tasks, like writing a Will, investing in a funeral plan and ensuring all your affairs are in order such as Inheritance Planning, Probate and LPAs.

Although they might not be as fun as the activities on your bucket list, these are really important things to do before 50 – and should be kept updated on a regular basis. Ticking these vital things off your list can help prepare you, and your loved ones, emotionally, physically and financially for your death. 

So, among the first things to do before 50 is to invest in a funeral plan. This allows you to make all the important decisions about your final farewell, removing the guesswork for your family. It also enables you to pay for it in advance, fixing services at today’s prices and easing the financial burden on your family at a difficult and emotional time.

Next on the list of things to do before 50, you should add writing a Will. This allows you to specify what should happen to your assets when you die, helping your family navigate your final wishes. You may also want to consider appointing a Power of Attorney to act on your behalf should you need it, and specify a plan for future care if it is required.

Another thing to do before 50 can include getting all your paperwork and online particulars, such as financial and social media accounts in order. You might want to keep a list of all your bank details and passwords together with your funeral plan.

Tick investing in a funeral plan off your list of things to do before 50 by getting in touch with Capital Life; contact us now or call 0800 411 8683 and one of our friendly advisors will be happy to help.

Getting affairs in order before death can be a cathartic process, and can help you ensure that you are prepared emotionally, physically and financially. It can also give you – and your family – peace of mind that everything is taken care of in advance.

So, what does getting affairs in order before death look like? Your first thought might be to make sure all your paperwork is in order – that your Will and funeral plan are up-to-date, for example. It might also include ensuring all your financial particulars – details of bank accounts, credit cards and loans – and passwords for social media accounts, are kept somewhere safe and accessible.

A funeral plan allows you to arrange your funeral in advance; you can outline everything from the type of service you’d like, to the music, to the wording on your headstone. Additionally, your funeral plan allows you to pay for your funeral in advance, so you can rest easy knowing your family is not left with the financial burden. This can help you organise your thoughts and feelings while getting affairs in order before death.

Getting affairs in order before death also means making a Will. This enables you to state what you’d like to happen to your assets and can help your family navigate your final wishes. You can also appoint a Power of Attorney (LPAs) to act on your behalf should you need it, and specify a plan for future care should you need it.

It’s a good idea to speak to your friends and family while getting affairs in order before death; it lets them know what you want to happen to you and help them gain closure at a difficult time. And knowing everything is in one place – and where that is – can ease the pressure where the time comes.

To see how a Capital Life funeral plan can help with getting affairs in order before death, such as Probate and Inheritance Planning, contact us now or call 0800 411 8683 and one of our friendly advisors will be happy to help.

When planning end of life, you should consider the practical and pragmatic things that could help ease the burden on your loved ones during the latter stages of your life. This might include ensuring your affairs are in order, writing a Will, planning your own funeral, or specifying any end of life care you may require.

One of the first things you should consider when planning end of life is to invest in a prepaid funeral plan. A funeral plan is a secure way of financing your funeral and allows you to fix funeral director’s services and many other expenses at today’s prices, protecting you against future inflation. Arranging and financing your funeral in advance with a funeral plan will give you, and your family, peace of mind that everything has been taken care of.

When planning end of life, you should also consider writing a Will. This legal document allows you to specify how your estate should be shared amongst your loved ones, removing any ambiguity over such matters; it also gives you peace of mind that your wishes will be followed. 

Planning end of life may also include LPAs, appointing a Power of Attorney; this should be somebody you know and trust as they will be responsible for what happens to you should your health fail. Power of Attorney also protects your assets should you become unable to make decisions regarding your care and financial affairs.

It’s never too early to start planning end of life. Making decisions regarding your care should your health fail, what form your funeral might take, and what should happen to your estate will remove some of the emotional – and financial burden – from your family’s shoulders. Eliminating such pressure could be one of the last and greatest gifts you give your family.

To see how a Capital Life funeral plan can help with planning end of life such as Inheritance Planning and Probate, contact us now or call 0800 411 8683 and one of our friendly advisors will be happy to guide you through the options available.

State funerals are public funeral ceremonies for people of national significance. In the UK this is typically the monarch, but there has been the odd occasion where other figures have been honoured, namely Winston Churchill.

State funerals are full of ceremony and tradition and are typically religious in nature. State funerals should not be confused with ceremonial funerals, which often share similar characteristics. The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Queen Mother and Prince Philip were all ceremonial funerals, as was that of Margaret Thatcher.

Among memorable state funerals was that of Queen Victoria in 1901, mostly because she set precedent for all state funerals since. In her royal funeral plan, she left instructions about the funeral service and associated ceremonies, breaking with tradition in many ways.

Despite exclusively wearing black following the death of her husband, Queen Victoria apparently disliked funereal black, and opted for a white pall on her coffin. She also requested equerries (an officer of honour, with responsibility for horses) carry her coffin, rather than Dukes, who were traditionally pallbearers.

The last of the royal state funerals was that of King George VI in 1952; his funeral was memorable because his funeral procession was the first to be broadcast on television, although cameras were not allowed to film the service. The procession carried his coffin, draped in the Royal Standard and topped with his crown, orb and sceptre, from Westminster Hall, via gun carriage and train, to Windsor Castle.

Although state funerals are reserved for monarchs, it was always assumed Winston Churchill would receive one. Although his funeral plan had been ready since 1958, before Operation Hope Not was mobilised, it had to be approved by the Queen and Parliament. The Queen told Parliament that it was fitting that the people had the opportunity to express their grief associated with the loss of a leader who served his country in war and peace.

It’s never too early to start planning your funeral; contact us now or call 0800 411 8683 to see how Capital Life can help you organise a memorable and personalised funeral.

Meta description: State funerals are reserved for the monarch; they are filled with ceremony and traditional, yet are still personal. Capital Life can help you with a personalised funeral plan including Wills, Inheritance Planning, Probate and LPAs.