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Member Benefits

Member Benefits

Member Benefits

PMA Member Benefits

People's Memorial Association has been a membership organization since its inception in 1939, connecting Washingtonians with cheaper end-of-life services through partnerships with local, independent funeral homes. There are currently over 71,000 living PMA Members  and we have served over 220,000 families since 1939.

PMA membership is a one-time fee of $99 with no annual dues. Individual members receive the following benefits:

Our typical discount at our network of partnered funeral homes is 15% off all services and merchandise purchased through these funeral homes. 

Exceptional cases: Recompose offers PMA Members a 15% discount using the code PMA-15, and Return Home offers PMA Members a 20% discount. 

What businesses do Members receive discounts at?

We strive to partner with only small, independent, locally-owned businesses providing the full range of end-of-life services. This means over 30 funeral homes, but also merchandise such as urns, grave markers, and caskets. 

We systematically survey PMA Members served by our funeral homes to confirm that they are living up to their contractually-agreed upon values, discounts, and policies, including:

  • Zero sales pressure/upselling
  • Non-discrimination clauses
  • Alignment to our Values and Mission

How much money can a PMA Membership save me?

Across Washington state, the average cost of a direct cremation—the simplest and cheapest service—is $1,685. A PMA Membership saves you $252 on average, or $281 at our not-for-profit funeral home in Seattle, and at minimum $134 at our least expensive partner outside King County. 

Statewide, the average cost of a burial with a graveside service is $6,584. A PMA Membership would save you $987 for this package.

PMA prides ourselves on our consumer advocacy. Part of that advocacy work is our biennial Funeral Home Price Survey, where we collect price lists from all funeral homes in Washington state to help compare plan prices apples to apples.

Top Findings from our 2024 Price Survey:

  • Direct Cremation prices vary by 708%. The average cost for Direct Cremation in the state is $1,685 and ranges from $485 to $3,435.
  • Direct Burial prices vary by 550%. The average price of Direct Burial is $2,439, with prices ranging from $985 to $5,470. 
  • Full Service Burial prices vary by 1,530%. The average price of a Full Service Burial is $6,584, with prices ranging from $1,690 to $26,015.

Read more Top Findings by County.

What if I move or die outside of Washington state?

People's Memorial Association is specific to the state of Washington, but there are many memorial societies around the country we are affiliated with. PMA staff will happily work with your family to connect you to a local affiliate who can help you locate local services. Most of those local organizations will honor your PMA membership, though some may charge a $15 transfer fee. Reach out to PMA or contact a local affiliate directly with any questions.  

You can look for an organization near your new home at the website of the national Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA). 

There are options to ship or transport full bodies across state lines or country-to-country, but the laws governing transportation depend state by state, and typically there are large fees associated with transporting full bodies. A more affordable option is to pay for services like cremation or aquamation locally, and then ship the cremated remains out of state by post. Either way, you will need to work with a local funeral home in the state where the individual passed away to arrange transportation or services. PMA is happy to help broker connections between out-of-Washington funeral homes to Washington funeral homes to the best of our ability.

Do PMA Member Benefits ever change?

Our staff and volunteer board work very hard to ensure our benefits stay the same over time, but as funeral prices have changed, so too have our member benefits. In 2023, a major decision was made to move away from the previous fixed prices for fixed plans scheme in favor of the flat 15% discount scheme we use today. 

PMA has all our Partners sign contracts that renew annually on July 1. For the duration of the contract, prices and terms are fixed until the contract renews on July 1. This gives our partners the chance to end or renegotiate their contract with PMA annually. So while benefits are fixed for each 12 month duration, benefits can and have changed over the years.

Here's a quick summary of member benefit changes over the years:

  • The prices you see on PMA's website and our Partner Price List are fixed for a 12 month period beginning July 1 annually.
  • Each summer we solicit the current prices from our Partners and update our advertised prices accordingly. Not every funeral home changes their prices annually.
  • If a Partner Funeral Home changes their prices mid-year, the contract they sign with PMA states that the Partner Funeral Home will honor the PMA Member Prices as of the July 1 contract renewal. If you can show the Partner Funeral Home a recent PMA Partner Price List or show them the prices on our website, that should be enough to convince a funeral direct (who may not be well versed in contract minutia) of the correct price. You should always call PMA's office if there is confusion around funeral service pricing.  
  • Prior to 2023, Members were advertised set Member prices for funeral "Plans" where Plan 1 was a simple Direct Cremation, Plan 2 was Cremation with an ID View, and so on. All Partner Funeral Homes had agreed to a set price for that specific funeral plan for a two year period of time. These plans no longer reflect the way PMA partners with our funeral homes, and is not language funeral homes necessarily understand since 2023. The decision to move away from "Plan" pricing to a fixed 15% discount reflected negotiations between PMA staff and funeral home staff. As PMA has grown (by funding and covering more of Washington's geography), pricing became too varied from one funeral home to the next and the Plan model did not scale.
  • PMA Membership entitles you to whatever benefits PMA has presently negotiated with each individual Partner. The standard is 15% but there are some exceptions to this case. (Return Home offers PMA members a 20% discount, and Lake View Cemetery offers 15% or 10% discounts for specific services.)

What happens next after I sign up for membership?

People's Memorial Association will mail you a new member packet containing the following:

  • A PMA Member ID card, which displays your PMA Member ID (important for confirming membership with partner funeral homes) and key contact information such as PMA's office phone number and time-of-death line;
  • A Disposition Authorization and Vital Statistics form, a key document for declaring your end-of-life wishes and vital health information a doctor or funeral director will need to know to begin processing a death certificate;
  • A Designated Agent form, which allows you to nominate any individual to be your designated decision maker for all end-of-life arrangements, particularly helpful for non-typical marriage or family relationships;
  • A Ducks in a Row Checklist, for outlining other key planning documents you may wish to also prepare such as financial planning and medical advanced directives;
  • A Dear Family and Friends Letter, which helps explain PMA and the context of end-of-life planning to help ease your decision makers into this difficult time;
  • A PMA Partner Funeral Homes list, explaining which services providers PMA Members receive a discount at, their contact information, and their prices.
  • Information on Green Burial Options and other recent changes to end-of-life choices you may not have heard about; and
  • A Digital Document Storage Service application (optional), where you can pay a one-time $25 fee to have PMA helpfully store your planning documents so funeral homes and next-of-kin can reach out to PMA for these important documents.

Your packet should arrive by post within 2 weeks (or immediately if you opt for a digital email packet). And PMA is happy to main replacement Member ID cards and planning documents for the lifetime of the member.

You are a PMA Member instantly once you sign up, so even if you haven't received a packet yet you are eligible for your 15% discount on services through our contracted funeral homes immediately after sign up.

To learn more about PMA Member benefits and next steps for new members, you can watch our 2024 Welcome New PMA Member video, recorded by Executive Director Casey Husseman Brandt.

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