24 Feb Lighten the load with funeral benefits
After Japan, China and Germany, UK insurance provider SunLife’s 2020 study found South Africa to be the fourth most expensive place to die. The average funeral and related costs was reported to be in the region of R 27 000 which is a big ask for most South Africans.
Given the high cost of funerals, especially where repatriation is required, and cultural significance, employee funeral benefits offer high value to employees.
Apart from the high costs, South Africans face another problem when funeral benefits are absent.
According to South Africa’s Parliamentary Monitoring Group, millions of South Africans cannot live without debt and are increasingly falling behind on their debt commitments. The high levels of over-indebtedness and the steep costs associated with borrowing money to fund a funeral significantly worsens their financial well-being.
When one takes these factors into consideration, the benefits of employers offering funeral benefits is a high value employee benefit.
Acknowledgments:
https://www.iol.co.za/thepost/news/the-cost-of-dying-how-south-africa-compares-to-other-countries-c2a2e64e-58b5-4cbc-a4c0-1ce4717642f4
https://pmg.org.za/page/credit