Pyes Pa Cemetery. Photo / George Novak
The cost of burying a loved one in Tauranga has risen by 40 per cent amid calls for greater support from the Government for grieving families struggling with soaring costs.
By July 1, the total cost of a burial had ballooned from $3152 last year to $4673 as part of the Tauranga City Council's new programme of user fees and charges.
The amount, based on a standard casket and use of Pyes Pa Cemetery, translated to a 48 per cent increase. Overall, the general increase to cemetery parks and crematorium fees was 40 per cent.
Tauranga City was among a sample of 17 councils the Funeral Directors Association surveyed regarding burial costs.
Association chief executive Gillian Boyes said the average burial cost in New Zealand was now over $4000, with the likes of Tauranga, Hastings, Nelson and the Far North experiencing "significant jumps".
Boyes said such increases meant the national average cost for a modest funeral with a burial was about $8400. However, the Work and Income Funeral Grant was $2280.70.
"This matters because Māori and Pacific families are disproportionately represented amongst those applying for the grant, and it's these families for whom burial remains the preferred funeral option," she said.
"Our funeral directors have significant concerns about the wellbeing impact of them not being able to farewell their loved ones in a culturally appropriate way."
Boyes said the association raised this issue with the Government prior to this year's Budget but was told it would be considered as part of a wider welfare overhaul.
"With costs that funeral directors can't control going up like this, we can't wait," she said.
The association proposed increasing the funeral grant to $6300, "close to the funeral grant available under ACC".
Boyes said the Work and Income grant was not a handout going to everyone but rather it was designed for a small group of the most vulnerable "already struggling with significant post-Covid cost-of-living increases".
"Our funeral directors have to sit in front of these grieving families and tell them they probably can't have the funeral they want. It's deeply unfair on both families and on the funeral directors," Boyes said.
At Tauranga's Legacy Funerals, general manager Kiri Randall "totally agreed" with Boyes' call for greater Government support in the Work and Income funeral grant.
"The cost of everything is going up, that [the grant] just hasn't kept pace with what's going on in the market," she said.
Randall would not comment specifically on Legacy's charges or the council's increase in fees other than to say the funeral home built its own crematorium "so that we weren't dictated to by the council fees as to what we charge for a cremation".
"This was to try to keep the costs reasonable for everyone."
Randall said there would always be people who struggled financially and a funeral home working with families to provide what they could within their budget was "the most important thing".
Bay Financial Mentors' Shirley McCombe said everyone wanted to farewell loved ones appropriately but they generally did not see people concerned about funeral costs "until after the event when they are trying to manage the debt they have incurred".
"For those who pass away in an accident, there is support from ACC. If the person is in receipt of a benefit there may be assistance from Work and Income. For Māori families, koha helps with the costs but often the expenses come from travelling long distances to attend tangi.
"For our Pasifika clients, costs can be enormous, especially if they are supporting families to attend from overseas."
McCombe said it was good to have upfront conversations about funerals but appreciated not everyone may feel comfortable doing so.
"We do see clients with multiple funeral insurances - often they have been sold these when making a large purchase."
Prepaid funerals were worth considering, for those who had the financial means to do this, she said.
City council manager of parks and recreation Warren Aitken said the council increased its user fees and charges based on a cost-recovery model, as "the service was not paying for itself".
"This was consulted on through the 2021-31 Long-term Plan and now puts Tauranga in line with other similar cities. Burial costs now sit just above average, where we were previously sitting well below the average."
ACC acting deputy chief executive for service delivery Phil Riley said its funeral grant was based on confirmation of funeral or memorial costs, but it could be adjusted to reflect clients' changes in earnings or cost of living.
ACC has been giving funeral grants since its inception on April 1, 1974. Since then, the rates change every July 1 in accordance with changes in the Consumer Price Index.
In 2002, the rate was $4500, in 2012 it was $5879.81. This year, it is $6569.53.
Riley said the grant covered costs which could include burial or cremation, casket, hearse fees, purchasing a burial plot and even transport to the funeral.
"Flexibility is to be emphasised, understanding that the grant can be spent on a broad range of items, with acknowledgment that the appropriateness of a funeral expense is subjective and will vary depending on the deceased client's culture, religion, and personal circumstances unique to their life," Riley said.
Ministry of Social Development director of client service delivery Graham Allpress said it wanted to provide as much support as it could when someone lost a loved one.
The Work and Income funeral grant was for people who had no other means of meeting the costs of a funeral or tangi. It was not intended to cover the entire cost but, like ACC's, could be used for cremation or burial, casket, death notice costs and more.
The funeral grant was established in 1991 and last reviewed in 2003.
Allpress said the grant was linked to the Consumer Price Index and any decision to increase grants was a matter for ministers.
A disregard for authority could be why those attending court are thumbing their noses.