By Loh Keng Fatt, The Sunday Times, 1 Feb 2015
My friend Peter is 48, an engineer, and expects to remain a bachelor for life.
He has a sister two years younger and she is unmarried too. They catch up with a few relatives only during Chinese New Year and he doesn't think he will keep in touch after his parents are gone.
He knows the importance of self-sufficiency. While he saves and invests for his retirement and is grateful that the upcoming MediShield Life will provide health-care insurance for life, he has taken his preparations a step further.
He is already thinking through plans for his funeral.
He knows he can count on his sister - if she outlives him - or perhaps his friends to take care of it. But he cannot be sure, nor does he want to depend on them.
Discussing this over dinner recently, I told him I'd seen an advertisement in a British newspaper that dwelled on those very concerns. A funeral service provider offered a prepaid plan that lets you choose your own funeral package while you are still alive.
You pay in monthly instalments or a lump sum, with a guarantee that no extra charge will be levied even if costs rise substantially when you eventually pass on.
The company introduced the plan in 1985 and claimed it has since had 500,000 clients. It does not keep the money it collects in advance but puts it in an independent trust fund. This assures clients that they will not be left in limbo if the company folds.
At least two firms have rolled out similar plans in Singapore, their main selling point being, you don't want to be a financial burden to your family when you die.
It remains to be seen if such plans take off here, given that death is not a subject many like to dwell on, much less plan for, though some do go as far as booking their niches in columbariums of their choice.
But with Singapore's growing ageing population, there have been more efforts to get people thinking about end-of-life issues.
The Lien Foundation has taken the lead in encouraging people to think early about dying, suggesting everything from how to leave a unique legacy - something as simple as a scrapbook or photo album of your own - or plan a cheery obituary that celebrates your life instead of merely listing all the people left to mourn your absence.
But Peter is less concerned about all that. He wonders who will handle his funeral if he dies suddenly - say in a car accident. He thinks that given how there are more single people and family size is shrinking, planning your funeral is as important as ensuring you have enough money for retirement.
In the old days, when immigrants came to Singapore from China, there were clans which provided fellowship and took care of the funerals of those who did not have money or kin here.
Today, many singles are not penniless but may lack family and friends in old age. The prepaid funeral plans could be an option for them. Still, they must take time to weigh the pros and cons.
Even in Britain where such plans have been around for a while, consumers can be bewildered by the different choices offered by companies. Does your payment, for instance, cover the cost of a burial plot or church service?
The Consumers Association of Singapore has come up with a checklist of questions to ask if you are considering such plans. Among other things, it recommends checking what exactly is covered, whether the deal can be amended or cancelled if circumstances change, and if full refunds are possible.
One funeral service provider reportedly charges $138 a month for 10 years for a package. That comes up to $16,560 and covers a three-day, two-night wake in a void deck, a wooden coffin and transport for mourners to the crematorium.
My friend Peter tells me he is checking how these plans work before deciding his next move preparing for the end.
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