Funeral cost experts advise families to prepare for the challenges of bereavement

More and more bereaved families are finding the hurt of losing a loved one becomes amplified by a desperate financial situation, due to the escalating costs of funerals.

Figures from last year’s Sun Life Direct Cost of Dying report, compiled in collaboration with the University of Bath, showed funeral poverty to be at record levels. Now estimated at £117m, a figure that has grown from £85m since 2010, a staggering 71 per cent inflation rate will see the problem spiralling out of control if solutions are not found.

According to Sun Life Direct, an estimated 70,000 applications for Social Fund Funeral Payments are rejected every year, a figure that is only going to increase with the current system in place.

Since the report was published, Sun Life Direct has been working with key funeral industry figures to assess what should be done, as well as with consumer groups and academics, in the hope of informing a robust response to the problem.

Though accepting that the Government has wider priorities, Simon Cox, head of life planning at Sun Life Direct, is anxious that the issue gets scrutiny in the corridors of power sooner rather than later, before the problem turns into a national crisis.

He comments: “While it is clear that the Social Fund Funeral Payments scheme is not currently due for any review, government officials will be under no illusion that the UK’s ageing population presents additional systemic problems to wrestle with, over and above social care issues. Having made such widespread changes to other benefits, the Social Fund Funeral Payment has not been revisited either as part of the Bereavement Benefits or Universal Credit legislative reform. Now might therefore be an opportune time to revisit the societal benefit which I believe is incredibly important but increasingly inadequate.

“Research showed that almost half of all applications for a Funeral Payment are rejected – nearly 70,000 each year – and the proportion of those being rejected has been steadily increasing. The value of the benefit, while increasing broadly in line with the Retail Price Index, has not kept up with funeral inflation, meaning its real value has significantly decreased over the past 10 years.”

Funeral payment complications have also been made more complex by the situation, as Mr Cox explains:

“The biggest injustice of the system – the way the payment is applied for – remains unaddressed and is likely to be a significant factor in driving many into funeral poverty.

“For the most vulnerable in society at the most difficult time of their lives, this unfair process dictates that the person responsible for the funeral must commit to the funeral (resulting in an invoice that must be sent with the claim) before finding out if they have been successful in receiving financial assistance. With the average funeral costing well over £3,000, this is destined to plunge those already in financial difficulty into a cycle of even greater debt. Even for those who are accepted, success means an average payment of approximately only £1,250, again leaving those left behind with considerable debt.”

Local authorities do have an obligation to provide Public Health Funerals, on which there is now a rising dependency, but Mr Cox does not recommend as a satisfying alternative.

He continues: “Failed applications leave many families with no choice but to turn to Public Health Funerals, also known as ‘pauper’s funerals’. Local authorities and health authorities have a legal obligation to provide these but for minimum cost and with the legal right to recover costs from the deceased’s assets.

“Having raised this issue at Westminster, I know that while it is not an immediate priority, there is a view that suggestions on how to improve things will be listened to, which is certainly welcomed. While interested parties in this area work together to identify potential improvements, funeral inflation rises, the population ages, and the system remains as it is, with thousands of families being denied a valuable benefit, because of the process and its complexity. In all likelihood those in dire need will be led into debt with a false sense of security in thinking that they will be eligible for the benefit when in fact they are not.”

Even those Social Fund Payments that are successfully secured are now significantly lower than average funeral costs, with typical pay-outs of £1,217 not even amounting to half of what families need.

Care providers who practice end-of-life provision often find families are ill-prepared for the practicalities of organising a funeral, but there are ways for clients to be better informed and prepared if they are willing to research the options open to them.

Funeral service companies like have reported an increasing level of interest in pre-paid funeral plans over the last two years especially, with ‘Safe-Hands’ proving a popular option for more and more people seeking to eliminate the financial burden their families might otherwise face.

As David Milson, head of the National Federation of Funeral Directors, reports: “As the disparity between Social Fund access and rising funeral costs continues to grow, and as the average lifespan lengthens, it is an unfortunate fact that budgeting for a funeral by traditional means may no longer be sufficient to cover the costs. Pre-paid funeral plans offer a fixed-price alternative to those deterred by the inherently incalculable nature of most whole-life insurance policies.”

Anne Wadey, who is head of the , also has advice for families who find preparing for the challenges of bereavement to be a sensible route.

She comments: “Bereavement Advice Centre receives many calls from bereaved individuals and families who mostly have no idea what needs to be done practically after a death, how to access the funds the person who has died has left behind or how to cope when the person who has died has left nothing but the funeral still has to be paid for. We can answer their questions and signpost them to appropriate services.

“We are finding we are getting more calls from people planning ahead for their own death or that of someone close and we know from the bereaved families we speak to how helpful that forethought can be. We can send our ‘What to do when someone dies A Practical Guide’ and ‘A Step by Step Guide to Probate’ to anyone for whom they are relevant. We have had excellent feedback about them and work hard to keep them up to date. Both are downloadable from our website but we also supply them in booklet form free of charge to care homes and other professionals to have available for their clients and families before and after a death.

“Staff are also welcome to call us for advice if they are asked a question they don’t know the answer to. We recognise how difficult providing good quality care at the end of life can be as well as it being very rewarding and being able to reassure people with straightforward information is very important.”