Preplanning a funeral in New Zealand

Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-10-20 · Reviewed quarterly, when the underlying data is restated.

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.

Preplanning a funeral means deciding what you want and writing it down, so your family does not have to guess. It costs nothing. Paying ahead is a separate, optional step. In the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand's 2026 report, 74% of deaths had neither a pre-arrangement nor a pre-payment (FDANZ, 2026 Industry Trends Report).

Three words get mixed up. To preplan is to decide and record your wishes. To prearrange is to agree those wishes with a funeral director, sometimes with a written quote. To prepay is to put money aside for the funeral in advance, usually in a trust. You can preplan without doing either of the others. Prepaid money is not insurance: it is your own money held for a purpose, and it is treated differently from a policy that pays a benefit. The same report found that 58% of New Zealanders think preplanning is important, yet about half definitely know they want a funeral and 20% have not thought about it or do not want to. Directors also have a commercial interest in prearrangement, and 67% of member firms run campaigns to encourage it, so compare any offer with the alternatives below.

What to decide and write down

Nobody needs to settle everything. These are the decisions that most change what your family faces:

Burial or cremation. In 2025, 69% of funerals in the FDANZ survey ended in cremation and 25% in burial. See burial vs cremation.
The kind of farewell. A full service, a private family goodbye or an unattended cremation with no service. Families who say "just a cremation" may not realise they will have no chance for a final farewell, FDANZ warns. See unattended funerals.
Where you want to be placed. Burial in a particular cemetery or plot, or what should happen to ashes.
Cultural or religious practice. If a tradition matters to you, say so and name who can advise. Customs vary by family, iwi, hapū and community.
Who you want involved. A celebrant, minister, particular music, who speaks.
Who has the papers. Where your will, your funeral wishes and any prepaid or insurance documents are kept.

The law matters here. Decisions about the funeral rest with your executor, or your closest relative if you have no executor, and Community Law says they take whānau views and cultural, religious and spiritual practice into account (Community Law: funerals and tangihanga). We found no source saying your written wishes bind them, so tell your executor and family what you want, as well as writing it down. See what an executor does.

How to preplan, step by step

Talk to the people who will arrange it. Your executor and closest family should hear your wishes from you.
Write your wishes down. Put them in a document that is easy to find and tell people where it is. Public Trust recommends also recording funeral details in your will (Public Trust: Prepaid Funeral Trusts brochure).
Choose a funeral director, or two to compare. Ask for an itemised written price for the scenario you want. Only Funeral Directors Association members are bound by its Code of Ethics to be transparent about costs, and joining is not a legal requirement (FDANZ, 2026 report). Our guide to how to choose a funeral director lists what to ask.
Price your wishes. Use the figures below as a yardstick, then ask for a real quote.
Decide how, or whether, to fund it. The options are in the table further down.
Keep the papers together and review them. Revisit the plan after a major life change, and check any prepaid or insurance terms against the original paperwork.

What to price against

FDANZ's 2025 member survey gives typical prices for stated scenarios: a full funeral with cremation for 50 attendees averaged $11,700 (range $10,000 to $13,900), the same with burial averaged $14,300 (range $12,800 to $17,000), and an unattended cremation averaged $4,700 (FDANZ, 2026 report). FDANZ says $10,000 is now "well below" the cost of a modest attended funeral. Component ranges are on our funeral costs hub. These are survey averages, not quotes, and a price you plan today may not be the price in some years.

The ways to fund it

Option	How it works	Watch for
Save in your own account	Money stays yours and can be spent on anything	Easy to spend; may count as an asset for the Funeral Grant if the estate is tested
Prepaid trust run through funeral directors (Now For Them)	Money held for your funeral; says no interest or return is paid and no fees, and it will tell you if that changes	Terms are changing as FDANZ rebuilds the trust, so check current terms
Prepaid trust run by a trustee company (Public Trust)	Set-up fee of $285 ($216 with a Public Trust Will and enduring powers of attorney), closure fee of $137, interest added after tax	Fees take part of a small balance. See Public Trust prepaid funeral trusts
Funeral insurance	Pays a fixed benefit on death for premiums	Waiting periods, premiums can add up to more than the benefit. See prepaid vs funeral insurance
Fund nothing	The estate or family pays; bank can release money for the funeral	Family carries the cost and decisions

Public Trust's fees are as at 6 July 2026 and include GST (Public Trust: Prepaid Funeral Trust price list). Now For Them's terms are from FDANZ's Now For Them page.

How prepaying interacts with Work and Income

Residential care subsidy. Prepaid funeral expenses of up to $10,000 each for you and your partner, held in a recognised funeral plan, are not counted as assets (updated 4 August 2026) (Work and Income: Residential Care Subsidy). FDANZ says that $10,000 level dates from 1994. Money above it counts.
Funeral Grant. A prepaid funeral account counts among cash assets when Work and Income assesses a Funeral Grant, which is up to $2,697.43 (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). For some families, prepaying can mean a smaller or no grant. See the Funeral Grant guide.

Questions to ask any prepaid provider

What are the set-up, withdrawal and closing fees, and can they change?
Does the money earn interest, and who pays tax on it? Consumer NZ notes tax may apply to interest earned (Consumer NZ: 5 ways to pay for your funeral).
What happens if the funeral home closes, or your family chooses another? The Funeral Trust says money is held in a separate trust and another firm can use it, but that FAQ may predate the trust's rebuild, so confirm.
What if the funeral costs more, or less? Public Trust and The Funeral Trust both say any leftover goes to your estate.
Can you get the money back? Consumer NZ says you may not be able to withdraw it unless you face significant financial hardship.

Planning ahead with funeral insurance

Funeral insurance pays a fixed benefit towards costs; it does not pay for the funeral. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited, accepts New Zealanders aged 40 to 75, with no health questions and benefits of $3,000 to $30,000. For the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death (within 90 days of the accident); any other death in that window pays no benefit and premiums are refunded. Total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. Setting money aside in a savings account is the other way to prepare. Momentum Life holds an A.M. Best rating of B (Fair); see its financial strength page. Our funeral insurance hub compares the options. 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 when someone dies guide.

If you are planning ahead for your own funeral costs

Get a quote and apply online today

See your price in about a minute, then apply online with Momentum Life. Guaranteed acceptance, no health questions, no medical exams.

Life cover See your price Ages 18–65 · $50k–$300k Funeral cover See your price Ages 40–75 · $3k–$30k

Want more than $300k or have questions? Talk to an adviser

Life cover: Conditions you already have aren't covered for the first 2 years (premiums refunded instead). Suicide isn't covered for the first 2 years, and a few conditions can be excluded permanently.

Funeral cover: Only accidental death is covered for the first 2 years. Total premiums can add up to more than the cover, and it may not meet the whole cost of a funeral.

Insurer: Momentum Life Limited. Financial strength rating B (Fair) from AM Best, affirmed 11 February 2026; B ratings sit in AM Best's 'vulnerable' range. The rating scale is available for inspection at every Momentum Life office in New Zealand. What this means

Already have cover? Keep it. New cover won't pay for a condition you already have in its first 2 years.

Opens Momentum Life's online application; its guidance only covers eligibility. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy. General information, not advice.

Adviser's view

Preplanning costs nothing and is the part that helps your family most: they get your decisions instead of guessing. Paying ahead is optional, and each way of doing it has a catch, from fees to how it counts as an asset for the Funeral Grant. Write your wishes down first, then decide whether to fund them.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Preplanning a Funeral NZ: Wishes, Checklist, Costs. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/when-someone-dies/preplanning-a-funeral-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.