A funeral bond is a funeral investment that matures on death and is generally not able to be redeemed until that time. It is a safe and effective way to put money aside and accumulate benefits to help meet the future cost of your funeral expenses. It is your money invested in your name, earning bonuses that top up the value of your bond.
From 1 January 2008, Centrelink will not include the value of up to two bonds to a total value of up to $11,000 for the Assets Test purpose provided the following two criteria are met:
- You do not also have prepaid funeral expenses
- The amount invested in the bonds to be exempted does not exceed the Funeral Bond Allowable Limit
Where you are a member of a couple, each person can claim this exemption if the bonds are held individually, however, if held jointly then only one limit applies. For example, John and Sally can each have a $11,000 funeral bond exempt in their own names, but if held in joint names, they can only have $11,000 exempt in total.
Where you have one funeral bond that exceeds the limit, the entire bond will be an assessable asset for Centrelink purposes, so if you’re wanting to marginally reduce your assessable assets for Centrelink purposes, be sure not to exceed the limit.
Funeral Bonds can make the difference via reducing your assessable assets between accessing a small Centrelink benefit for purposes of accessing cards and discounts which are often highly valued by their recipients. Funeral Bonds also provide you with peace of mind, that upon your passing, the lump sum investment will assist with the funding of funeral expenses, removing the burden from your loved ones.
Contact us for further detail and investment options.