Archbishop Desmond Tutu performed a final act of leadership by requesting a pine coffin, sparking the long-awaited national conversation about what it means to be buried with dignity, says Brendan Pearce.

In a sacred space, in front of the high altar of the historic St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, rests the mortal remains of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Per his wishes, his remains were cremated using water in a process called acquamation.

The small box they were placed in before being buried under an inscribed tile in the cathedral belies the gargantuan statue of the man and the epic, historic life he lived. So, no specially constructed mausoleum with gold embellishments and ornaments for this colossus of history. No custom, imported mahogany or maple wood casket with luxurious white satin interior finishes. Instead, this titan of our time wanted his signature humility to shine through, even in how his last rites were to be conducted.

READ | Explainer: The Process Behind Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Water Cremation

He arguably performed a final act of leadership in doing so, sparking the long-awaited national conversation about what it means to be buried with dignity. The fact that his pine coffin has become a topic of discussion shows that his funeral rites have struck a chord with South Africans, many of whom have rightly compared these aspects with their own lived realities in attending or organizing the funeral. of deceased loved ones.

Invariably, the conversation sparked by The Arch’s no-frills funeral tended to revolve around the concept of a dignified funeral. For us as Africans, dignity is highly prized but priceless.

But it seems that there are ways in which we are willing and actually pay the price in exchange for our self-defined conceptions of dignity. In an economic environment of stagnant growth and record unemployment, this price is not insignificant, and in rands and cents, it is steadily rising every year. R18 billion a year is what Hippo told us a few years ago is what we pay as South Africans for the final rites and customs, with an average of R40,000 per burial.

Caught on a cloud of “expensive” and “flashy”?

Recently at the Finmark Trust we conducted a study on funerals and their cost drivers. By analyzing the data, we generated a word cloud to reflect how often particular words came to our respondents’ minds when mentioning the concept of a ‘dignified funeral’.

The two most important words were; ‘Dear’ and ‘Flashy’. Coming in slightly behind those two; ‘After Tears’, ‘Celebrities’, ‘Red Carpet’ and ‘Limousine’.

Interestingly, the Oxford Dictionary defines “Dignified” as “A calm, earnest manner that deserves respect”. Words that barely figured in the spontaneous responses of our respondents. Makes you think, doesn’t it?

READ | SA is the fourth most expensive place to die

But how did we get here? Do the commercials we all watch so excitedly between our favorite TV shows influence our perception of what counts as a dignified funeral? Or is it the recent trend of celebrity funerals being shown on television, coupled with the new and needed innovation of live funeral services on social media? These phenomena have allowed us to glimpse the broad spectrum of the meaning of a dignified burial.

To this day, many of us remember the funeral of our favorite musician, actor, or sports star. You probably clearly remember the red carpet laid out along the flower and petal lined promenade leading to the auditorium where the service was held. You probably remember very well the bottled water distributed to all the mourners. The bottles probably had the deceased’s photo and name on the label.

And for the really well off, the funeral service is usually only half the story. For those people of discerning taste and class, rest in peace is redefined to culminate in an area in one of the thriving private memorial parks. The entry-level grave at these cemeteries will moor R32,000 from the bereaved family’s pockets, while a bespoke family memorial estate for up to eight family members ‘for eternity’ costs up to R350,000.

Some of the more elaborate tombs in these memorial parks are equipped with an eternal flame whose gas bill is paid monthly. Others feature water features, private gardens with patio furniture, and life-size carved stone angels. Still others have breathtaking Zimbabwean marble granite headstones, sometimes artistically carved in the image of the deceased and artifacts illustrating the activity for which they were best known during their lifetime.

Luxurious or modest, funerals are always expensive

But affordability is relative to one’s means. We now know, from various research we have done, that the desire to go all out financially to cover the costs of a dignified burial knows no LSM or class boundaries.

Our study has broken down the funeral process into three stages of analysis. We have identified as the first phase, the period immediately following death. This usually entails costs such as communication in the form of airtime and data, transportation and logistics such as setting up a tent or marquee to receive mourners. The second phase is the period of mourning following the announcement of a death. Costs include those for a venue for a memorial service, groceries and catering for the bereaved and, in some cases, may include renovations to the bereaved family’s home.

The third phase includes much of the outdoor display that is meant to leave a lasting impression on whether or not the funeral was dignified. This is the burial phase. It is accompanied by a basket of expenses which includes, but is not limited to, the casket, the burial site, transportation such as buses for the mourners, the slaughter of a cow or goats, the tombstone and even the gathering after the tears.

Are we living for the day we die?

Studying these processes in this way helps us isolate what we spend so much on, as far as funerals are concerned.

From our research, a picture emerges that suggests that the death and funeral stage of our life dominates much of our financial decision-making for years, even decades of our lives. Due to the financial implications that we know are associated with a death in the family and funeral preparations, we seem to devote a significant amount of our financial planning and resources to preparing, covering costs and recovering the financial impact. of this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Research suggests we may even do so to the extent of the imbalance between planning and saving for a dignified funeral on the one hand, and our other financial, insurance, and investment needs on the other.

Our 2019 Finscope study tells us that 35% of South Africans perceive funeral cover as the most important insurance. Income protection in the event of a critical illness or job loss was rated most important by 27%, while only 13% rated health insurance as most important. And who can blame individuals and households for this ranking of priorities? Nobody really, while the same survey also reveals that 33% of adults experienced an unexpected event in the past year that resulted in financial loss. Above all, for 41% of those who have experienced such an event in their life, it was a death in the family.

The picture of how the Covid-19 pandemic may have altered these perceptions of what are or should be our top priorities continues to pixelate. In the months and years to come, it will be interesting to observe whether perceptions of the importance of income protection will be influenced by the job and income losses that have become a lived reality for so many following national lockdowns.

This conversation leads us to ask what is the opportunity cost of unbalanced financial planning, focused on death and funerals, for the average South African.

The data shows us that spending on things like savings and wealth building is at a pitiful, stagnant 3%, and debt service is around 6% of living expenses.

Insurance yes, but overinsurance?

Based on data from the funeral insurance industry, it is arguable that many South Africans spend much of their lives saving for the day they or a loved one dies.

In 2018, for example, around R3.6 billion was spent monthly on funeral insurance premium payments. Almost 22 million of us maintained some sort of funeral insurance in 2018 and 2019, with around 24% of policyholders spending on average between R100 and R149 a month on premiums. And in the true ubuntu tradition of our country, on average, a funeral insured usually provides for the lives of several members of a household, extended family and friends.

And the phenomenon of people holding more than one funeral insurance policy, sometimes to cover the exact same person living multiple times, is very real.

Industry data reveals that many South Africans hold an average of two funeral policies. But there are cases where people hold up to four or five such insurance products. We found that multiple policies are a particularly noticeable phenomenon among social grant recipients and middle-income earners. This, in the context of seemingly perennial economic difficulties and insufficient income to cover the monthly expenses of individuals and households, undoubtedly raises the specter of overinsurance.

To reuse the payline from a funeral insurance provider’s old TV commercial; Balancing “should you die” considerations and “should you live” priorities and concerns is arguably a personal finance sweet spot that many of us should be aiming for.

God knows it is essential in these times of record unemployment, a pandemic-stricken economy, job losses and deepening poverty.

– Brendan Pearce is the CEO of Finmark Trust.

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