Consumers today have more information available to them than ever before. And many have firm ideas as to what they want and need. This requires all of us to be more creative and responsive to meet those wants and needs. We know there is a lot of financial stress for Americans, and we want to be a part of funeral homes’ advance-planning team and help remove some of the stress. A few examples of why making funeral and cremation arrangements in advance is so important are: 26% of Americans have less than $1000 in savings. 62% of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck. 45% of Americans say that money causes the most stress for them. Last year more families filed for bankruptcy than for divorce. And ten thousand Baby Boomers retire every day, of which 45% have no savings at all.

American Century offers a number of effective ways families can fund their funerals and cremations that fit into their budget.

• Preferred Annuity: This simple solution has a number of attractive features. First, there are no health questions necessary to qualify for coverage. The growth on Preferred Annuities is tax deferred, and there are no early withdrawal penalties with American Century. There is no minimum deposit amount and there are no additional fees.
• Advantage Annuity: This is for a longer time period. All of the benefits of the Preferred Annuity are still available, and this annuity provides a higher interest rate. There is, however, a surrender charge of 8% in year one. The surrender charge declines by 1% annually through year eight. Following that there is no surrender charge for the duration of the annuity.
• Three-Pay, Five-Pay and Ten-Pay Insurance Policies: These varying premium paying periods allow for flexibility in offering choices to families.
• Whole Life Policies: When premiums are a concern, these are great solutions.