Category: book

What is the cost of dying?

Like everything else, the cost of dying is increasing as much as the rising cost of living.  A study commissioned by Australian Seniors and CoreData in August 2023, The Cost of Death Report 2.0 found that estimated funeral costs have increased by more than 20% for burials and cremations since 2019. In 2023, the average burial costs $11,039, compared to $9,055 in 2019. Similarly, the average cremation now costs $8,045, compared to $6,334 in 2019.

The study revealed that we are paying up to $18,652 for a basic burial funeral, and up to $5,953 for a basic cremation funeral. This is due to the rising costs of funeral services – including embalming, viewing, transportation, and professional fees – along with the cost of coffins and burial plots to name a few.

A third of the responders who recently helped pay for a funeral experienced some form of financial hardship. Two-thirds of those who experienced financial hardship said that it took months to financially recover.

Saying goodbye to those we hold dear should be a time of love and unity. Regrettably, this is not always the case.  It’s no secret that funerals can exact a heavy financial toll, but they can also create tension between family and friends. Unfortunately, more than a third of responders encountered arguments with loved ones over funeral finances, adding weight to an already heavy situation.

Further, the study suggests that a trend is emerging where families are pressuring us to spend more on funerals than initially planned, a trend which has more than doubled since 2019.

Consequently, it seems our funeral preferences are changing. Many of us are now opting for simpler services (26%), being more cost-conscious (24%), and choosing cremations or cheaper alternatives to traditional burials (22%). Some of us are even getting creative and considering a DIY funeral (9%).

Tradition is taking a back seat as we focus less on mourning and more on celebrating life. In fact, most (83%) of us now prefer the celebratory approach. We want a funeral that reflects us – who we are and what makes us, us. An example of this are our changing music preferences, moving away from conventional funeral songs. Instead, iconic artists like Elvis Presley, Queen, Frank Sinatra, and Elton John emerged as the most common choices.

On the other hand, many of us are yet to discuss our wishes with loved ones. In fact, only 1 in 2 (53%) of us have made our families aware of our funeral preferences. For those of us who are yet to have this conversation, it’s important that we communicate our funeral wishes to our nearest and dearest to ensure we receive the farewell we desire.

Australian Seniors:  The Cost of Death 2.0 Report, November 2023, https://www.seniors.com.au/documents/australian-seniors-series-cost-of-death-report-2023-whitepaper.pdf

 

Author talk at Dennis Johnson Library Stanhope Gardens

Come along to join in the retirement conversation on

Join Alice and have a retirement conversation.
Saturday, 24 October 2020 at 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm.
At the Dennis Johnson Library, Cnr Stanhope Parkway & Sentry Drive, Stanhope Gardens, NSW 2768

Women experience retirement differently to men. Women generally live longer, have less money and volunteer more than their male counterparts. A practicing lawyer for over 30 years, Alice Mantel encourages making better decisions, giving advice on topics such as:

Inspiring women to make the most of their retirement opportunities, Every Woman’s Guide to Retirement encourages an active, connected lifestyle, staying healthy, lifelong learning, de-cluttering, and even online dating to make the most of this time.

Not quite the shortlist – the Peter Carey Short Story Award

Every writer wants a little recognition occasionally. Hard to write a best-seller so often we enter short story competitions to hone our skills and get a little publicity.
So it was really gratifying to have one of my stories, Once were three sisters, recognised in the longlist for the 2020 Peter Carey Short Story Award. Out of over 300 entries, 18 short stories were chosen to get into the longlist. The winner will be announced on 13 June.

Peter Carey AO is an Australian novelist now living in New York who has won the Miles Franklin Award three times and won the Booker Prize twice. His received his first Booker Prize in 1988 for Oscar and Lucinda, and the second time in 2001 with True History of the Kelly Gang.

Organised every year by the Moorabool Shire Council, the short story competition is for stories of 2000–3000 words, and is open to all Australian residents. The winner receives $1000 and the runner-up receives $500, with both stories to be published in the Spring 2020 edition of Meanjin.

Other longlist entries are: https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2020/05/14/150542/peter-carey-short-story-award-2020-longlist-announced/

Six minutes interview

This story appeared in the March 2020 issue of the NSW Law Society Journal:

BY AMY DALE – FEB 27, 2020

Alice Mantel is an experienced lawyer and adviser on the challenges that many women encounter during retirement. She talks about family law, homelessness, and why just planning one big overseas trip won’t cut it for the final third of your life.

What experiences as a lawyer shaped your decision to advise on planning for retirement?
I spent around 10 years practising family and then elder law. In family law particularly, I was surprised and then concerned about how little many of my clients knew about their own personal financial circumstances. Often, they did not know if their name was on the title of the property, or how much was owed on the mortgage or credit cards. Again, when acting for older clients, often they left making their wills or power of attorney until very late, when there was pressure from their children, which, as you can appreciate, is a very difficult situation for any lawyer. It brought home to me that women need to be prepared much sooner for the unexpected.

What inspired you to write your book, Every Woman’s Guide to Retirement?
I started writing this book before I retired. I was initially doing research to answer my own questions. Years ago, when placing my mother into a nursing home, I realised how difficult it was to find any sensible information to assist me. More recently, I wanted some guidance when I was thinking about closing my practice. After a while, I decided that most books or articles did not seem very relevant to me. They were often very friendly but aimed at chaps who were fairly well off or aimed at women who presumably intended to spend the last third of their life on continual holidays. My research gradually grew into a book that is far more extensive than I had ever contemplated and includes mundane topics like accessing your pension as well as more interesting options such as lifelong learning or starting a new relationship.

What issues specifically apply to women? Bulk of carer responsibilities, less superannuation, longer life span?
I see retirement as very different for women than men. Generally, women are the main carers for their parents, children, partners and grandchildren. At the same time, they come into retirement with significantly less financial resources but live on average five years longer. If they do not have enough resources, those last years are going to be close to living in poverty. It can be a very grim prospect if a woman’s health begins to suffer and there is not always the certainty that your children will be there to look after you.

Women aged 55 and above are the fastest-growing cohort at risk of homelessness. How can we do more to ensure financial security?
It is no surprise to me that older women are at risk of homelessness. It can begin if they lose their home in a divorce settlement and cannot recover financially, but also if they are unable to find work and remain unemployed, either as a result of their own or their children’s health issues. When super funds talk about having a modest retirement, or a comfortable retirement, there is always an unspoken assumption that the retiree owns their own home. That’s ridiculous and increasingly unlikely as recent figures have demonstrated. We need to make a secure home a realistic possibility for everyone.

What about social planning for retirement? How can people prepare themselves to leave the workforce and feel at ease that a happy and fulfilling future is still ahead of them?
Most women retiring today can expect to have another 20 years of relatively good health, so it simply isn’t enough to plan your one big overseas trip and think that’s all there is to it. For working women, one of the major issues around retirement is the loss of their work identity, the loss of income and the social connectedness that professional life brings. We need to plan at least a year ahead of retirement about how we can use our skills and experience in the non-employment sphere – and let me assure you, that is a very large sphere. There are so many not-for-profit agencies looking for directors on their boards or volunteers for their operations. Not having to follow a work routine means you can finally pursue your real passion – whether it is art, woodwork, or caring for your grandkids and even if it might take a little time to find what that is, it will give real meaning to the legacy you leave.

In conversation in Albury

Introducing Every Woman’s Guide to Retirement

Sally Denshire and Alice Mantel in conversation in Albury LibraryMuseum
to Albury women was Dr Sally Denshire, a former CSU academic and Albury resident. Sally and Alice discussed how women’s approach to retirement was different to the usual male perspective. A case of “men retire, while women go on cooking”. Most of the 23 attendees were professional women who were concerned about organising their housing to be the most convenient and cost-effective for their later years. And – as could be expected – some were really looking forward to retirement while others wanted to delay it for as long as possible!