Cost-of-dying crisis: Bereaved families who rely on state aid to pay for funerals ‘being turned away’

Families struggling with the cost of funerals are being turned away by funeral directors, campaigners say.

The news comes as the average cost of a funeral rose to an eye-watering £4,345 – a hike of almost 8% from the previous year – reflecting a sharp rise in expenses during an already difficult time for the bereaved.

The Scottish Government offers a Funeral Support Payment to help low-income families cover the essential costs of funerals.

The payment – averaging around £2,000 – is intended to assist ­people on benefits with expenses like burial or cremation fees and doctors’ certificates.

But with the cost of funerals soaring, the money falls well short.

Increasing funeral costs

John Halliday, CEO of Community Renewal Trust and Co-founder and chair of Caledonia Funeral Aid, said he has experienced funeral directors turning away grieving families.

Under the current system, the Funeral Support Payment is usually given to the bereaved family rather than the funeral director – and there’s concern the money might not be passed on.

He said: “A few bad experiences have made some funeral directors overly cautious. As a result, they’re now refusing to work with people on benefits – and to me, that’s a heinous act.

“There are people who are struggling through life, who have experienced a terrible bereavement. They have the least capacity to deal with the administration, the fallout, the grief – and turning them away is an absolute tragedy in today’s society. It needs to be that private funeral directors can’t turn people away, that’s what I want to see.”

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If someone in Scotland dies without the means to pay for a funeral, the local council arranges a basic “public health funeral” to cover legal requirements, such as a simple cremation or burial – but they often lack the personal touches families may want. Adam Stachura, policy director at the charity Age Scotland, said: “We still hear from people on low and modest incomes who feel obligated to take on extra debt in order to give their loved one a decent send-off.

“The Funeral Support Payment has been significant, but there remains a gap between the average payment and actual funeral costs, especially with the added cost-of-living pressures.

“We would like to see the support reviewed in future years to prevent people falling into debt.”

Funding funerals

While around 70% of people in the UK make some sort of financial provision, only 54% leave enough to cover the full cost. This leaves nearly half of families with an average shortfall of £1,872, according to insurance company SunLife. Around 15% of people make no plan at all.

Many turn to prepaid funeral plans to manage rising costs, but these don’t always work. The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) surveyed Scottish members and found prepaid plans “almost always” or “often” fall short due to older plans not keeping pace with inflation, excluded services like burial or cremation fees, and administration charges.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which began regulating funeral plans in 2022, says the most common complaints involve delays and disputes over fees. Customers are now protected by the Financial Ombudsman and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, with a review due in 2026.

After groups, including Caledonia Funeral Aid, campaigned for a rise in the amount given, the Government announced a 6.7% increase in the Funeral Support Payment, effective from April 2024.

The National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) supports the Funeral Support Payment (FSP) but says the average award of £2,103 covers only about half the cost of a funeral, now averaging £4,285.

Despite these challenges, the NAFD Chief executive Andrew Judd said: “Funeral Directors are understanding and compassionate people who want to help whoever walks through their door. They take on many Funeral Support Payment-funded funerals in the knowledge that they might make a loss, but on the understanding that all deceased persons deserve the same level of respect and dignity.

“Each funeral director business has its own practices; our advice is always talk to your funeral director, be open and up-front, and they will do their best to find a solution that works for everyone.”

The Scottish Government said:“Since launching Funeral Support Payment in 2019, we have paid £60.1 million to 30,820 people, offering vital support to pay for the costs of a funeral. The average payment during the 2024/25 financial year was £2,103.

“We are dedicated to supporting clients in making the right decision first time and processing applications as quickly as we can.”

Donna-Marie’s story

Undertakers were ‘disgusting’ when I mentioned benefits 

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Donna-Marie Harper, 50 from Ardrossan found herself in a stressful situation after the death of her friend Adam.

Adam had worked for the army when he was younger, and had been friends with Donna-Marie for many years.

Donna-Marie also lost her mum and again was helped by the charity Caledonia Funeral Aid to organise the funeral.

She had approached several undertakers but they wouldn’t entertain her requests for help unless money was paid up front. She said the funeral directors were unhelpful when they discovered that the costs would be covered mainly by benefits.

She said: “As soon as they learned that my friend that had died was on benefits, they were so unsympathetic that it was unbelievable.

“It’s just money-orientated for them, which is crazy considering the line of job that they’re in.

“They were just not interested, it was disgusting.

“It was soul-destroying because you felt as if they were looking down on you. They would not entertain me whatsoever.

“As soon as they learned about the benefits, they wanted the money up front. It was a lot of running about, and it was just horrible.

“When you think about it, it is about the worst time of your life and the last thing you want is hassle trying to organise a funeral.”

Donna-Marie contacted Caledonia Funeral Aid, who helped her arrange the funeral without a deposit.