World · East Asia & Pacific · 16 hrs ago
More young Filipinos are paying in advance for their funerals
In the Philippines, more people are arranging and paying for their funerals in advance, including young adults.
The trend has grown since the Covid pandemic.
Funerals can be expensive because Catholic wakes may last up to two weeks, with costs for a venue, food, flowers, a coffin, burial and preparation of the body.
The total can reach 1,500 Swiss francs, about four times the average monthly income.
Funeral plans can cover these costs and may include a burial plot, a space for an urn or a small mausoleum.
Forest Lake, a company that operates memorial parks, says demand is high and plans to expand from 42 parks, with eight more planned.
These plans also offer families a place to visit, unlike public cemetery graves that may be cleared after five years.
More young Filipinos are taking out plans to cover the cost of their own funerals.
The trend has grown since the Covid pandemic, as demand for funeral prepayment plans reaches a new high.
Funerals in the Philippines can cost up to 1,500 Swiss francs, about four times the average monthly income.
Forest Lake, the country’s largest memorial park provider, operates 42 memorial parks and has eight more planned.
Its chief executive says the plans offer families a dignified burial and a place to remember their loved ones.
- Who
- Young Filipinos are among those taking out funeral prepayment plans. Companies including Forest Lake offer the plans.
- What
- More people are paying in advance for funeral costs, and plans can also include a burial plot, an urn niche or a small mausoleum.
- When
- The trend has grown since the Covid pandemic.
- Where
- The Philippines.
- Why
- Funerals can be expensive, in part because wakes can last up to two weeks and involve feeding many visitors. Prepayment plans cover costs in advance.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Forest Lake’s parent company began its cemetery business after seeking a profitable use for land in the southern Philippines.
Young adults in the Philippines have increasingly taken out plans for their own funerals.
Forest Lake operates 42 memorial parks and has eight more planned.
- Funeral cost
- Up to 1,500 Swiss francs
- Average monthly income comparison
- Funeral cost can be about four times the average monthly income
- Forest Lake memorial parks
- 42 operating
- Planned memorial parks
- 8 more
- Wake duration
- Up to two weeks
What people are saying
It is like on an airplane: there is economy class, business and first.
The demand was always there. But there was nobody serving it.
Sources
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