choices / the trust fund

You do not have to create a user name and password to access your choices account balance or tax statement.

You can find the log in information to look up your account online in two places:

• On Your Prepaid Funeral Contract Form
  
• On Your Annual Tax Statement
  

Remember, if you are using the Contract ID Number, you must include the letter and the dash, ie R-1234512345. 

For more than 30 years, consumers and funeral directors have confidently trusted the New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund™ (NJPFTF) as their vehicle of choice for a consistent, straightforward and dependable way to prefund funerals. Operated by the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, Inc. (NJSFDA), the trust fund is offered at 631 funeral firms throughout New Jersey.

Currently administering 46,710 consumer accounts, the trust fund has grown to more than $355.6 million in trusted accounts since its inception in 1981. In 2014, the net growth of the fund was more than $4.0 million, including interest, deposits and withdrawals. The annualized net yield to each consumer account was 1.60 percent.

Established by and for the members of the NJSFDA in 1981, the NJPFTF was created for the sole purpose of safekeeping consumers’ prepaid funeral monies with the premise of what is good for consumers is good for funeral homes.

If the NJPFTF did not exist, most funeral directors would have to deposit prepayments into individual trust accounts at low interest rates. By contrast, the NJPFTF provides a safe, well-managed trust earning interest rates that should keep up with or surpass inflation. In this way, the funeral director should be able to provide you with the funeral of your choice no matter how much prices increase in the years ahead, as long as the initial payment and interest remain intact.

On the day the NJPFTF receives your contract and check, your money is deposited into the trust fund and will begin accruing interest immediately. The NJPFTF Trustees only invest in FDIC insured bank deposits. The interest earned on those deposits will vary according to the current market rates.

Each year, the NJPFTF will send you a Grantor Trust Tax Information and Account Summary Statement detailing account activity, gross taxable interest and fiduciary fees. Interest income is reportable if you are required to file an income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service.

The New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund™ provides consumers with 100 percent transparency through the provision of annual account statements and up-to-date account balance information. This information is available by phone Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at (800) 286.3628 or online 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

To learn more click on the following links.

• Fast Facts
  
• History
  
• Governance
  
• Financial Reports
  
• Trust Fund Highlights