In the UK, £4,184 is the average amount you will pay for a funeral. Burials cost more at an average of £5,033, while cremations are cheaper at an average cost of £3,885. These costs can vary based on where you live and the size of the funeral that you are arranging. Keep reading to get more information on the different expenses that you will need to keep in mind when planning a funeral.
Funeral Director Fees
If you are arranging a funeral, comparing funeral directors and finding the right one for you is a good idea. You will usually be able to choose from packages available at fixed prices or arrange a customised service with various add-ons that are individually priced. A funeral director will charge a fee for the services that they provide while arranging and managing the funeral. They manage all the funeral arrangements including most of the practical arrangements and essential paperwork. They will also be responsible for caring for and transporting the deceased, which can be useful for loved ones at a time that can be quite emotionally sad and difficult.
Disbursements
Disbursements refer to the costs involved in a funeral that your funeral director will be able to collect on behalf of certain third-party vendors such as celebrants or florists. Your funeral director will be able to liaise with various providers to plan the funeral service that you want for your loved one. Some common disbursements include doctor’s fees for death certificates, death notices and obituaries, burial fees, funeral flowers, a religious leader, or celebrant to lead the service, music licencing costs, orders of service, venue hire for a wake, and catering for the wake. Disbursements will be added to the total funeral bill, but you will get a clear breakdown of the costs before agreeing to them. Also known as send-off costs, the added optional extras that can make a funeral more personal to the deceased and their loved ones come at an average cost of £2,484.
Burial Costs
The average cost of a burial in the UK is £1,724, according to research in 2019. However, there are several factors that can impact the total price of burying a loved one including the location and cemetery demand. This is the average cost for a fifty-year lease with the exclusive right of burial for an adult. It can be more expensive to bury a non-resident in a cemetery or to use a natural burial ground or a private cemetery compared to one that is owned by the council or a church.
Cremation Costs
Research by Funeral Guide also found that the average cremation cost in 2019 was £792, including a simple cremation service and before funeral director’s fees and third-party costs. While simple cremations will cost less in comparison to a burial, it is important to note that the total cost of the funeral is increased by quite a significant amount when you consider all of the other costs. How much you can expect to pay for a pure cremation will also depend on several different factors including whether you are using a public or private crematorium, the ceremony time, and how long the ceremony lasts for. There are also further costs for purchasing an urn, arranging a memorial, or using the Remembrance Garden to bury their ashes. It costs between £100 and £1,700 to buy a cemetery burial plot for ashes with a fifty-year lease, and some crematoria will charge a fee for scattering ashes on the ground. There are various options to consider for preserving ashes, and you can scatter them in many other places of your choosing, so this might be something worth looking into if you’re not sure that the Garden of Remembrance is the best place for your loved one.
Optional Extras
There are some costs to consider when you are arranging a funeral that may not be typically included in the funeral director’s fee and are optional. These include having your loved one stay in a Chapel of Rest before their funeral, the hearse and transport for the funeral procession, embalming, dressing, and other preparation of your loved one for the service and hiring staff for the funeral such as pallbearers. Your funeral director will go over these expenses with you in a sensitive manner and explain them clearly to you so you can determine which you want and which you do not. You could ask guests to the funeral or family members to be pallbearers to arrange a more low-cost funeral.
Cheapest Funeral Type
Many funeral directors will offer a range of fixed-price funeral packages that are designed to include everything that is required for a basic funeral including the funeral director’s fees. These packages range from a simple direct cremation service or pure cremation without an additional funeral service to complete services including a hearse, coffin, venue, celebrant, flowers, and more. A fixed-price funeral package will sometimes include the cost of the burial or cremation; this will usually be clearly stated in the package information. Some people prefer to have a low cost cremation without a funeral service and arrange a memorial service for their loved one at a later date. Simple cremations are generally the cheapest option.
How to Get Help With Funeral Costs
You can get assistance with funeral costs from various sources including charities, the government, and your loved one’s estate.
The Estate
During probate, funeral expenses can be claimed from your loved one’s estate if there are enough funds available. If there is no will, then you may be able to get further information about funeral expense plans, life insurance, and other assets that they might have had from bank statements or other financial records. Banks will usually freeze or temporarily close bank accounts until the estate has been through the process of probate and the banks get further instruction to provide loved ones with access to the funds. In this situation, you may be able to delay payment to the funeral director until you have access, but this is not always the case.
Budgeting Loan
A budgeting loan is a small, interest-free loan that is available to people in receipt of benefits and will be repaid directly from benefits payments. Whether or not you are eligible for this type of loan to help with covering the costs of a funeral will depend on whether you or your partner have been receiving pension credits, income-based jobseekers allowance, income support, or income-related employment and support allowance for the past twenty-six weeks before you apply.
Benevolent Fund
A benevolent fund might be able to help with the cost of the funeral depending on your loved one’s occupation. It can also provide help with additional financial and emotional support for loved ones.
Funeral Expenses Payment
Some people may be eligible for a Funeral Expenses Payment from the government to help pay for cremations, burials, and other funeral expenses. Whether or not you are eligible for this payment will depend on your relationship to the deceased, whether you receive certain benefits and your financial resources. In general, it is available for people who receive working tax credits, pension credits, child tax credits, income support, income-based jobseekers allowance, housing benefit, or income-related employment and support allowance. There is also a means-test for the payment in which the value of your loved one’s estate will be considered.
Veterans UK
If your loved one passed away due to serving in the armed forces or was in receipt of a War Disablement Pension when they were alive, you can ask Veterans UK to contribute to the cost of a simple funeral, typically a low cost cremation. Call the Veterans UK dedicated bereavement line or visit their website to get more information and find out if you are eligible.
Public Health Funerals
Nobody is responsible for covering the costs for the funeral of somebody else, even if you are their closest relative. In the UK, it is the statutory duty of each local authority to arrange a public health low cost funeral for anybody whose relatives are unable or unwilling to cover the cost. It will usually be a cheap cremation. This might be the best option in a situation where you were estranged from the deceased or have only recently learned that you were related to them after their death.
Funeral Costs by UK Regions
Although there has been an average overall decline in funeral costs in the UK over the past couple of years, the cost of arranging a funeral has still increased. London is the most expensive place to arrange a funeral at an average cost of £5,353, while Northern Ireland is the cheapest with an average cost of £3,056. Funeral costs have been significantly impacted by the COVID19 pandemic, with a rise in direct cremations and funerals impacted by social distancing measures.
With research finding that one in five people who have arranged a funeral reported being surprised by some of the costs, including funeral director fees, coffin cost, and the cost of flowers and embalming, it’s worth putting financial plans for your funeral in place today.