New research shows over a third of UK adults haven’t talked about their end-of-life plans
News
Dec 11th, 2023
Over a third of adults (37%) haven’t talked about their end-of-life plans with loved ones
1 in 10 people don’t plan to discuss their end-of-life plans with anybody
A free new app, MyGoodbyes, looks to engage people with their end-of-life planning and encourage them to share their plans with loved ones
A third of UK adults (37%) haven’t talked about their end-of-life plans with their loved ones according to new research by Opinium on behalf of MyGoodbyes, a free new app that helps people prepare their end-of-life plans.
Furthermore, 1 in 10 people (11%) don’t plan to discuss their end-of-life plans with their loved ones at all. And, while 42% of people have discussed wills, only a quarter (24%) of people have discussed lasting powers of attorney or funeral arrangements, and only 13% have discussed long-term care in case of illness or incapacity.
Perhaps most concerningly, only 6% of people have discussed the selling of assets to pay for long-term care, even though this can be a significant cost.
41% of adults surveyed said they felt that something prevented them from discussing end-of-life with their loved ones, with the most prevalent reason being that people find it upsetting to think about mortality (21%), while 10% said it’s because they do not fully understand the area, suggesting more education is needing around this critical topic.
Furthermore, 9% of people said they hadn’t discussed end-of-life planning with their parents because they felt their parents were still too young to worry about discussing it, even though decisions around end-of-life care are as vital for unexpected deaths as it is for expected deaths.
Women are more likely to find discussing end-of-life planning a distressing subject (23%) compared to men (19%).
James Barrett, Founder of MyGoodbyes, and a certified End of Life Planner said:
“I created MyGoodbyes after my Dad died of cancer during lockdown. My experience of trying to discuss end of life plans at an emotionally charged time made me realise this was something we should be talking about much earlier in order that you can focus on caring for your loved one, rather than tackling practicalities.
“Our research shows that discussing end of life planning is still a taboo subject for many. We want to take the stigma out of end of life planning and change the way we say goodbye, so that families and loved ones can make the most of the time they have together without the additional stress and uncertainty that can come when things like powers of attorney aren’t in place or healthcare needs haven’t been planned properly.”
James Barrett offers guidance to beginning an end-of-life plan:
“When it comes to making end-of-life plans, it's never too early to start. Even the simplest steps can make a significant difference and any action, no matter how small, is better than doing nothing at all.
“However formal or informal your decisions are, or even if you don’t know what you want, the most important thing is to talk to your loved ones. They are the ones who will have to execute your wishes – not just inheritances or assets but even decisions such as knowing if you want to be cremated or buried, or your healthcare preferences. A MyGoodbyes Party is a good place to start, offering a warm space for meaningful conversations about this taboo topic. By involving several people – such as adult children, partner, siblings, or friends – you can make sure everyone is clear and there is no doubt.
“If you're unsure or hesitant about where to start, why not begin with the lighter aspects? For example, lots of people have a preference when it comes to selecting a funeral song. It can serve as a great conversation starter before diving in deeper.
“Once you’ve had these initial discussions, it’s really important to document your end-of-life preferences. This ensures that your desired quality of life is upheld, even when you can't communicate verbally.
“Make sure you keep up with reviewing and updating your end-of-life plans, ideally on a yearly basis, to make sure they stay relevant and meaningful as time goes on.”
MyGoodbyes is a free new app to make end-of-life planning easier
The MyGoodbyes app allows users to generate a personalised end-of-life plan for free as well as access advice and content to help people understand the benefits of end-of-life planning and the value of discussing and sharing plans with loved ones.
It was developed using academic research from the Executive Academy of the University of Vienna and investment from Innovate UK. The app includes free planning tools, educational resources and Party features to help people discuss and share their plans. It also offers a paid-for feature that allows users to store end-of-life documents such as Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney in a vault secured by Thomson Reuters HighQ.
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