Simplicity Funeral Home director Sandra McIlroy says cost plays heavily on many families' minds. Photo / Warren Buckland
A recent increase in the Work and Income funeral grant has been described as woefully inadequate by Funeral Directors Association chief executive Gillian Boyes.
The grant, which has gone up 7 per cent to $2445 as part of an annual consumer price index adjustment, still covers only a third of the cost of a simple ceremony and burial.
“While we welcome the increase, a simple funeral with cremation costs an average of $6500 and a simple funeral with a burial upwards of $8400,” Gillian says.
Eligible low-income families are facing heart-wrenching decisions when it comes to farewelling loved ones, according to a Funeral Directors Association member survey. Gillian says the issue is set to get worse with council fees for burials and cremations expected to increase again this year, alongside rising material costs and general inflation.
“We are concerned that real harm is being caused by the inequalities surrounding access to what should be a basic human and cultural right – to be able to farewell a loved one with dignity and respect.”
Gillian says not being able to afford to pay for a funeral has a variety of concerning impacts, with potential long-term effects for ethnic communities and low-income families.
“Families who would prefer a burial for religious or cultural reasons are left choosing between either taking on an unaffordable loan from a third-tier lender or borrowing from friends or family in order to provide an appropriate funeral service.”
Hawke’s Bay-based Simplicity Funeral Home director Sandra McIlroy works on the frontline with hard-pressed families and says cost plays heavily on their minds.
“Families currently struggle to pay for the essentials of living day to day and do not have the disposable income necessary to pay for a funeral.”
She says families limit the funeral services they can receive because their budget does not cater to unexpected or expected funeral costs.
“Unfortunately, the funeral home cannot carry the costs that a family may want if they cannot afford it, and it is not our practice to put a family into debt.
“Not only this, it steals the grieving process from them as they are trying to make decisions and organise a funeral when they should be just grieving.”
Sandra believes 65 per cent of the families they cater to have typically not set aside money for funeral costs. “We are proactive in allowing space for whānau to have that difficult conversation on pre-planning for a funeral, whether it’s their own or for a family member.
“We understand that planning a funeral is not a priority for most, and our experience has shown us that, when nothing has been put in place, the grieving experience is more stressful. Remembering that it is those left behind that shoulder the costs if nothing is put in place.”
She encourages some whānau to apply for the grant so they can determine who would qualify when the funeral director makes the arrangements and talks about costs. She says with the funeral grant currently covering around a third of the funeral account, if there are no measures in place at that time, then there is quite a substantial amount left to pay.
“With the rise in costs escalating in New Zealand, funeral costs are only going to increase and the funeral home cannot be expected to shoulder these costs.”
She says pre-planning and pre-paying for your funeral is one answer.
“Having that conversation with your family and deciding what funeral services you would need, how much is that going to cost, and what amount you can set aside weekly or monthly to go towards your funeral costs is my best advice.”
As a Funeral Directors Association member, she says the company uses the Funeral Trust, which can hold funds until they are needed.
“With a $200 deposit and $20 a fortnight, it is an affordable way to set funds aside for your funeral. Go and sit with a funeral home and pre-arrange everything that you want to happen, and if you prepay your funeral you can lock in prices for a specified period of time to hedge against increasing funeral costs.”
Gillian says the funeral grant must be increased to properly support the most vulnerable.
Funeral grants are an asset-tested hardship grant intended to contribute to the essential costs of a simple funeral, with approximately 5000 grants issued each year.
Other than annual CPI adjustments, the last meaningful increase in funeral grants was 20 years ago. The association has been advocating for an increase since 2000.