PLANNING FOR LATER LIFE
10 per cent of the population aged over 65 is lonely all or most of the time
PROTECT YOUR FUTURE
The words Christmas and cremation don’t exactly sit hand in glove. But they do have something in common – the cost of both is going up! The price of burial plots has been rising by more than the rate of infl ation for many years, while children and heirs are fi nding they too are getting their fi ngers burnt by the spiralling cost of cremation. The average funeral today costs around £4,000. So while you might think paying up-front for your fi nal journey is a tad premature, it could prove a sound investment. A funeral plan 15 years ago would have set you back around £800; 10 years ago, about £1,200. The cheapest nowadays is £2,945 – still a lot less than the average funeral and covers all essentials, such as coffi n, cars and funeral service. So, setting some of your Christmas cash aside to invest in a pre-paid funeral plan might not be quite so un-festive as it sounds. A pre-paid funeral plan is a particularly good buy for younger adults who expect to live for quite a good while longer, as the savings are potentially even greater. It also means there will be more left in the ‘pot’ for any surviving children. It’s easier than ever to set up a pre-payment easy-instalment scheme but, as with any major purchase, you need to make sure you’ve got the right product to suit your needs.
• Peter Camrass is an authority on wills, funeral plans and lasting powers of attorney. He works in conjunction with most of the major funeral plan providers. Email
peter@camrasswills.co.uk, call 01622 720985 or visit
www.camrasswills.co.uk for more information.
Win a delicious hamper in time for Christmas
charities working at the frontline, it could be something as simple as checking in on an elderly friend or neighbour, as Gillian explains: “Sometimes a quick ‘hello’ and sharing a cup of tea, offering to do a bit of shopping or helping an older person access many of the services Age UK offers to help make their lives a little more comfortable and free from worry, can make a huge difference to them on both a practical and social level.
“And, should you happen to have
any spare time to volunteer at Age UK Sevenoaks and Tonbridge this festive season, we would love to hear from you.” • For further information, visit
www.ageuk.
org.uk/no-one and
www.ageuk.org.uk/ sevenoaksandtonbridge
West Kent home care company Terrablu is getting into the festive spirit by giving away a Christmas hamper worth up to £65. The beautifully presented
hampers are crammed full of local Kentish and Sussex produce, including Weald Smokery Sussex ham and award-winning Wrotham cheese Winterdale Shaw, as well as jam, chutneys and biscuits. “We know how hard it can
be to fi nd the perfect Christmas present for your elderly relative so we’ve designed a range of hand- selected hampers full of fabulous treats. But the products are so delicious we decided to make them available to everyone –
and to give away one as a Christmas celebration,” explains Managing Director Richard Gould. The Terrablu hampers range
in price from £60 to £90. Terrablu will deliver them to anywhere in the Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks areas.
• Details of the hampers and the competition are available at www.
terrablu.co.uk. Orders can be placed by calling 01892 529429. For your chance to win, just like the TerraBlu HomeCare Facebook page by 10th December, 2015.
The INDEX magazine
www.indexmagazine.co.uk
139
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148