Report reveals cost of dying too expensive for thousands of people

A new report from the University of Bath argues that the current system of state support for funeral costs requires urgent review.

With the average cost of dying having risen by 7.1 per cent in the past year and now standing at £7,622 (funeral, burial /cremation, plus estate administration), the report’s authors estimate that more than 100,000 people this year alone will struggle to leave enough money behind to pay for their funeral.

In spite of the lowest ever recorded mortality rates for England and Wales, the cost of dying has steadily increased over recent years. The average cost of a funeral rose by 80 per cent between 2004 and 2013, and the costs of dying are expected to continue to increase over the next five years.

Lead report author from Bath University’s Centre for Death & Society, Dr Kate Woodthorpe, said: “Medical advancement has made significant improvements to death rates. As a result people are living longer, which requires larger incomes and pension pots to ensure these extra years can be afforded.

“Whether or not these will stretch to cover funeral costs is unclear. At the same time, the younger generations have less ready cash to call on, so they cannot necessarily be relied on to pick up the bill either.

“We know that the long term decline in death rates is about to reverse, with a projected rise in the number of deaths around 15-20 per cent in the next two decades.

“We also know that right now, with some of the lowest death rates ever recorded, the safety nets provided by the state via the Social Fund Funeral Payment and local authority Public Health Funerals are under pressure. Their sustainability into the future is debatable.”

For families on low incomes, the Department of Work and Pensions- administered Social Fund Funeral Payment, first introduced in 1988, is intended to support those who struggle to find the money to pay for a funeral.

However, the report challenges the effectiveness and availability of this provision. By highlighting an average shortfall of £1,277 that many face, researchers suggest that ‘funeral poverty’ today is some 50 per cent higher than three years ago.

The report also found that local authorities have experienced a small but notable increase in demand for Public Health Funerals, on the grounds that individuals are not prepared to organise or pay for the funeral of a family member.

Through interviews with claimants and key stakeholders, the researchers identified flaws with the current system, including how eligible claimants are obliged to commit to funeral costs before submitting their claim for Funeral Payment. By doing this they are making poorly informed financial decisions that in turn may result in debt for close family members.

The report, which is called ‘Funeral poverty in the UK: issues for policy’, was co-organised and hosted by leading think tank on longevity and demographic change, the International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC-UK).

Baroness Sally Greengross, chief executive of ILC-UK, said: “Modern medicine and advances in public health have led to falls in the number of deaths over many decades.

“But the pattern of falling death numbers is about to turn around and start to increase. With growing funeral costs, quite simply, growing numbers of people might find they can’t afford to die.

“Government must act now before the current issue of funeral poverty becomes an even more significant future crisis.

“As a society we don’t talk enough about dying. But nor do public policy makers. We must find a way to open a debate about dying early and ensure that we and our families are as prepared as we possibly can be.”