According to a new study from Feeding America millions of aging Americans can little afford to eat, never mind afford to cover their end of life expenses. The study reports that a significant number of Baby Boomers (defined as those now between the ages of 50 and 64) are not the affluent generation we once believed, and are actually facing numerous economic and health issues.
A report by Feeding America and AARP found that approximately 8 million boomers are struggling to afford to eat and are turning to charity for food! 10,000 people turn 65 every day and this growing aging population, overwhelmed with financial issues, is going to have a knock-on effect on the billion dollar death care industry.
How are seniors changing their funeral plans?
What we are witnessing right now in the US is a huge shift towards cremation as a funeral alternative. Why? Mainly because it presents a much lower-cost option for those families who cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars on a funeral.
In fact, what we are observing through the DFS Memorials network is that the real shift is towards ‘direct cremation’. This is the lowest cost disposition option available and means that the funeral services provider just delivers the service to cremate the deceased without any ceremony and returns the ashes to the family. In most metro areas in America a direct cremation costs between $695 and $995…so as you can see this makes for a much more affordable death care option.
With a more mobile retiring population and the less traditional sentiment of the boomers, direct cremation provides an inexpensive and more versatile disposition choice.
The sad reality is that not only is there a generation of boomers struggling financially, their children are also struggling under the weight of the poor economy. CNN reports that 76% of American families are living paycheck to paycheck which really demonstrates the real financial situation. If Mom or Pop have not put funds aside in a funeral plan or life insurance….who really has the funds to pay for a funeral?
How will this affect the death care industry?
Profits are down across the nation as we shift from that traditional $10,000 – $15,000 funeral to a simpler cremation alternative that can cost anywhere between $995 and $3,500. This means many funeral homes are themselves struggling financially. Many have already closed or amalgamated and the largest corporate death company has bought out its two nearest competitors over the last few years!
The industry is still largely embracing cremation as an opportunity to sell creative ‘personalized’ services under the notion that boomers want something different and are prepared to spend on unique life celebrations. Whilst there will always be those individuals who can afford to spend on an extravagant send-off, there will be far more who want the simple and least expensive cremation option.
“A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members and among the most vulnerable are surely the unborn and the dying,”
~Pope John Paul II
