Prepaid funeral plans in New Zealand
Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.
A prepaid funeral is money you set aside in advance for your own funeral, held until you die and then paid towards the funeral home's invoice. In New Zealand it is held by a plan such as Now For Them, by a trustee company such as Public Trust, or under a funeral home's own arrangement. The price is not fixed: if the funeral costs more, your estate pays the rest.
A prepaid funeral plan is an account or a contract, not insurance. You choose how much to put aside, usually with a funeral home's help, and the money is held until it is needed. Two things decide whether it works for you: where the money is held, and whether the price is fixed. Now For Them, the plan run through funeral homes that belong to the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand (FDANZ), says the prices you discuss with your funeral home "are not guaranteed or underwritten" by the plan company, pays no interest, and returns any leftover to your estate (Now For Them terms and conditions, June 2026). Public Trust charges a $285 set-up fee and a $137 closure fee (Public Trust price list). Neither promises that the funeral will cost what you paid in. QuoteHub does not sell prepaid funeral contracts. Everything below is from the providers' and agencies' own documents, read on 20 October 2026.
The three ways to prepay
| Now For Them (FDANZ) | Public Trust Prepaid Funeral Trust | A funeral home's own arrangement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who holds the money | The Funeral Trust Services Limited, a charitable company set up by The Charitable Funeral Trust, which FDANZ established. The terms say it "holds those funds on trust" | Public Trust, in its Funeral Trust Cash Fund | Varies by firm; ask who holds it |
| Fees | None charged to account holders at present; the terms say this "may change" | $285 set-up ($216 with a Public Trust Will and enduring powers of attorney) and $137 at closure; no ongoing fees | Check the terms |
| Interest | None. "No interest or return" is paid | Interest is added after 28% tax (PIE rate); no rate is published | Check the terms |
| Tied to one funeral home | You name a member funeral home, but neither you nor your estate has to use it | No. Public Trust is not a funeral director and arranges payment of the invoices sent to it | Often yes; ask |
| If the funeral costs more | The company may make a discretionary Funeral Assistance Payment. The terms say none is ever guaranteed; the estate or family pays the rest | The documents we read do not say; ask | Check the terms |
| If it costs less | The excess is refunded to the estate. You cannot leave money for a headstone | Leftover money is paid to the estate | Check the terms |
Sources: Now For Them terms (June 2026), Public Trust's price list and brochure, and Consumer NZ (updated 22 May 2024), which says other funeral homes "may have their own trust arrangements and different terms and conditions". One Christchurch funeral home's plan-ahead page says its estimates "are not fixed and are subject to inflation". We found no source that requires prepaid money to sit in a trust. The structures above differ, so the contract is what counts.
Now For Them changed recently. FDANZ's page for existing clients says The Funeral Trust's customers were moved automatically to Now For Them from 1 July 2026, after a High Court decision on 16 June 2026 (FDANZ: For existing Funeral Trust clients). Older descriptions of The Funeral Trust, including its FAQ, may describe terms that no longer apply. For the full comparison see our guides to funeral trusts and the Public Trust product.
What a prepayment does not fix
It does not lock the price. FDANZ's 2026 report puts a full cremation funeral for 50 people at an average of $11,700 (range $10,000 to $13,900), the same funeral with a burial at $14,300 (range $12,800 to $17,000), and an unattended cremation at $4,700. It also says $10,000, still the most common deposit in the funeral trust, is now "well below" a modest attended funeral (FDANZ, 2026 Industry Trends Report).
A worked example, with round numbers and our arithmetic: you put $10,000 aside in a plan that pays no interest. Your funeral turns out to match the $11,700 cremation average. The plan pays the $10,000 and $1,700 is left for your estate or family, unless a discretionary payment is made. If it costs $4,700, $5,300 goes back to your estate. Neither figure is a forecast.
It does not earn much. Now For Them pays nothing, and its terms say the company has "no responsibility for any capital growth or maintenance of the real value" of the funds. Public Trust adds interest after tax, but its fees on a $10,000 deposit are about 4%, as we work out in our Public Trust guide.
It is hard to undo. Now For Them allows withdrawals before death only for permanent emigration or significant financial hardship, at the company's discretion. Public Trust says money can be accessed only for funeral expenses, except in exceptional circumstances. Consumer NZ warns you may not be able to withdraw "unless you're in significant financial hardship".
It does not cover what the funeral home does not do. The plan pays an invoice. Whether the funeral is the one you want depends on your estate and your family following your wishes. The wishes are not legally binding (Community Law), and Now For Them's terms require you to make sure the people representing your estate know you hold an account.
Prepaid funeral or funeral insurance?
| Prepaid funeral | Momentum Life Funeral Insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Your own money, set aside | A fixed benefit paid by an insurer, in return for premiums |
| What you pay | The amount you choose, plus any fees | Regular premiums, fixed each year until the 89th birthday |
| If you die soon | Only what you have paid in is there. Public Trust says the balance stays available if contributions stop | The first 24 months pay only for accidental death (within 90 days of the accident); any other death pays no benefit and all premiums are refunded |
| Amount | What you pay in | $3,000 to $30,000, chosen at application |
| Ages | Check the provider | New Zealanders aged 40 to 75; no new applicants over 75 |
| Total cost | Never more than you put in, apart from fees | Total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral |
Insurance moves the risk to a company. A prepayment keeps it with you. Momentum Life Limited holds an A.M. Best rating of B (Fair); see its financial strength page. Our comparison is in funeral insurance versus a prepaid funeral. If you are over 75, Momentum's Funeral Insurance does not accept new applicants, and the realistic routes are a prepayment, savings or a licensed adviser's advice.
What it does to Work and Income tests
- Residential care subsidy. Work and Income does not count "pre-paid funeral expenses for you and your partner of up to $10,000 each, if they're held in a recognised funeral plan" when it assesses assets for the subsidy (Work and Income: Residential Care Subsidy, updated 4 August 2026). Now For Them's terms say the Ministry of Social Development recognises it for this. FDANZ says the $10,000 dates from 1994, and the providers describe it as "current" policy, so it can change.
- Funeral Grant. A prepaid funeral account is counted as an asset when Work and Income assesses the grant, and the grant maximum is $2,697.43 (Work and Income: Funeral Grant, updated 24 June 2026; definition of assets). Work and Income says other help, including prepaid funeral cover, can affect eligibility. See the Funeral Grant guide.
Ten questions to ask before you sign
| Question | Why it matters | What the documents above say |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds the money, and is it held on trust? | Decides what happens if the funeral home fails | Now For Them: the company holds funds on trust. Public Trust: trustee under a Master Trust Deed. Others: ask |
| Is the provider regulated? | Sets what oversight you have | Now For Them's company says it is on the Financial Service Providers Register but "not licensed by a New Zealand regulator to provide the Now For Them plan" |
| What are the fees now, and can they change? | Fees cut a small balance quickly | Now For Them: none now, may change. Public Trust: $285 and $137 as at 6 July 2026 |
| Does the money earn anything? | Inflation | Now For Them: no. Public Trust: interest, no rate published |
| Is the price fixed? | Decides who pays a shortfall | Not fixed in Now For Them or the funeral home example above |
| What if the cost is higher or lower? | Shortfall and refund rules | See the table above |
| Can I change funeral home or move city? | Life changes | Now For Them: tell them. Public Trust: not tied to a funeral home |
| Can I get the money back? | Needs change | Only in narrow cases at Now For Them and Public Trust |
| What happens if the provider closes or winds up? | The reason to ask | Now For Them's terms: on winding up you receive the funds you paid. See what happens if a provider fails |
| Who will tell the funeral home I have a plan? | Money can go unused | Now For Them puts that job on you and your estate |
Ask for the answers in writing, and keep the paperwork with your will. Our preplanning guide has a checklist for recording your wishes.
Who it suits, and who it does not
A prepayment tends to suit someone who wants the money set aside and out of reach, may need to protect assets for the residential care test, or wants the funeral home to know the plan. It tends to suit people less when they might need the money for something else, expect the funeral to cost more than they can put in, or want a price guarantee. Savings in an account you control, and funeral insurance for those aged 40 to 75, are the other routes. FDANZ found that 74% of deaths in 2025 had no pre-arrangement or prepayment, so most families deal with the cost at the time (FDANZ, 2026 report). See how to prepay a funeral for the steps, and funeral costs for current prices.
Where to get advice
Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance is one way to plan ahead; read the Momentum Life Funeral Cover page first. The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy a Momentum policy (how we are paid). Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). Back to the guides hub.
Adviser's view
A prepayment is a way to put money aside for one job and make the funeral easier to arrange. It is not a price lock, it earns little or nothing, and getting the money back out is hard. Read the written terms, work out whether the amount would cover the funeral you want, and compare it with saving the money yourself.
Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Prepaid Funerals NZ: Plans, Contracts and Costs. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/when-someone-dies/prepaid-funerals-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.
References
- FDANZ: Now For Them terms and conditions, version 1, v5.0, June 2026 (PDF)
- FDANZ: What is Now For Them?
- FDANZ: For existing Funeral Trust clients
- Public Trust: Prepaid Funeral Trust price list, fees as at 6 July 2026 (PDF)
- Public Trust: Prepaid Funeral Trusts brochure (PDF)
- Consumer NZ: 5 ways to pay for your funeral
- Simplicity Funerals Christchurch: Plan ahead
- FDANZ: 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report (PDF)
- Work and Income: Residential Care Subsidy
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant, definition of assets
- Community Law: Funerals and tangihanga
- Momentum Life: Financial Strength
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (PDF, issue date 17 August 2023)
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