Sunday,July12,2009

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charlotteobserver.com/business

SECTION D

MoneyWise

HE FOUND JOB STABILITYAS A NURSE

Charlotte man spent his savings,went without health insuranceto pursue a new career.

3DDEAL DIVA:

Which is cheaper:grocery stores or Wal-Mart?

3DTAKING CARE:

It’s tough tosearch for work if you’re sick.

By Cameron Steele

csteele@charlotteobserver.com

When Service Corp. International, the nation’s largestfuneral-home chain, bought its biggest competitor in2006, it took a commanding stake in the Charlotte mar-ket and promised to provide quality services and reason-able prices.Butthree years later, a new survey showswhat con-sumer advocates at the time feared:Charlotte funeralprices have risen, making the city the most expensive in which to be buried or cremated. According to a Junesurvey by Everest Funeral, a research company that works with consumers and life-insurance companies,average funerals in Charlotte cost $5,500, while crema-tions average $2,821.The figure for funerals is $1,600 more than the South Atlantic average and $1,500 more than the national aver-age, according to the National Funeral Directors Associ-ation.Some local independent funeral directors blame thehigh prices on Service Corp., a Houston-based companythat owns more than 1,300 funeral homes nationwide,including 60 percent of the homes in Charlotte.“It’s called controlling the market, and I hate to saythat it’s working,” said Tito Truesdale, co-owner of Rosa-daleFuneral Parlor, an independent home on AlbemarleRoad in east Charlotte that competes with Service Corp.Shawn Strickland, Service Corp.’s market manager forthe Charlotte area, says he doesn’t believe the results of the survey because he thinks that funerals in big citiessuch as New York and Washington cost far more than inCharlotte. He said Service Corp. offers a wide range of prices but that the basic price for a funeral is determined by the cost of that home’s overhead.“It’s such a subjective question, because it really de-pends on the family and what they want to see happen,”he said. “We don’t have pricing any much different thananyone else does.”The president of the local chapter of Funeral Consum-

TODD SUMLIN – tsumlin@charlotteobserver.com

Fred Oates helped dig a grave at Oaklawn Cemetery Wednesday in Charlotte, where a survey shows the city’s average funeral costs $5,500, while cremations average $2,821.

Death and dollars

The charts below indicate Service Corp. International’s market share percentage of the national and Charlotte funeralindustries. Service Corp., the nation’s largest funeral-homechain, owns the majority of funeral homes in Charlotte.

Charts: DAVID PUCKETTSource: Everest Information Services LLC and IBISWorld Inc.Research: CAMERON STEELE

Service Corp.’s market share

90%

Private, family-owned funeral homes

7.8%

Service Corp. International

0.1%

Stonemore Partners

0.7%

Carriage Services Inc.

1.4%

Stewart Enterprises

National

30%

Private, family-owned funeral homes

10%

Keystone Group

60%

Service Corp. International( 6 funeral homes )

Charlotte

With 1company dominating the market, Charlotte leads the nation when it comes to burial, cremation costs.

SEE

DEATH,

By Pamela Yip

Dallas Morning News

One day after the death of Michael Jackson, Heritage Auction Galleries was besieged with calls asking whathis memorabilia is worth.“The general consensus is that whatever it was worth yesterday, to-day, it’s probably worth double, if nottriple,” said Noah Fleisher, spokes-man for Dallas-based Heritage, thelargest collectibles auctioneer in the world.Collecting is a big business, and it’s become even more so as the recessionhas led many consumers to rummagethrough their attics and basements tosee what can be sold and turnedquickly into cash. Craigslist, for in-stance, has seen its “For Sale/Collect-ibles” section grow 60 percent in thelast year, a Craigslist spokeswomansaid.But much of collecting has to do with the emotion someone feels to- ward a person, object or genre, anda surge of interest in collectibleslinked to the pop legend. But the tar-nish to Jackson’s image from thestrange turns his life took and the ex-pected litigation over his affairs coulderode the collectibles’ long-term val-ue, industry experts say.The value of Jackson’s memorabiliaexperts say that’s how you should firstapproach collecting.“A true collector buys items be-cause he or she loves to collect,” not because they’re trying to make a buck,said Todd Imhof, executive vice presi-dent of Heritage and a rare coin ex-pert. Jackson’s unexpected death creates

Sales of Jackson itemsshow power of collectibles

His memorabilia is red-hot,and the hobby is big in adown economy. But be alertto fads, experts warn.

SEE

COLLECTIBLES,

BRYAN CHAN-POOL – GETTY IMAGES FILE PHOTO

Michael Jackson signs autographs for fans as he arrives at his civil trial inSanta Maria Superior Court in November 2002, in Santa Maria, Calif.

By David Pitt

Associated Press

As if we needed another sign thatthis may be the Great Recession, itappears some companies that sus-pended their 401(k) match mightnot restore it completely.In past downturns, most compa-nies that stopped matching employ-ee contributions to 401(k) accountssimply reinstated the match whenthe economy recovered. This timemight be different. Consultants re-port that clients are considering op-tions including tying their 401(k)match to profits or using some of that money for other benefits.Companies have more flexibilitythan most people think when itcomes to their 401(k) plans.The current average match is 50cents on the dollar up to 6 percentof pay. For example, a worker earn-ing $50,000 a year contributes 6 per-cent, putting $3,000 into the 401(k)account and the company puts in$1,500.Using that average figure, compa-nies with more than 15,000 employ-ees can save in the neighborhood of $25 million a year by suspendingtheir 401(k) match. When you’retalking that kind of money, it’s easyto see why it becomes a target in badeconomic times.But potential changes coming

Once they’re gone, 401(k)matches might not return

Some companies look toredirect former matchmoney to health care,training, other beneﬁts.

McCLATCHY-TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATION

SEE

RETIREMENT,