Help is available from the Department for Work and Pensions towards funeral costs if you are on a low income and a receiving certain benefits. How much financial help you qualify for depends on your individual circumstances, this includes any other money that’s available to cover the costs, for example from an insurance policy or the deceased person’s estate. This payment is called the Funeral Expenses Payment.

As the person liable for the funeral costs, you (or your partner) must be in receipt of one or more of the following

• Income Support

• Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance

• Income related Employment and Support Allowance

• Pension Credit

• Housing Benefit

• The disability or severe disability element of Working Tax Credit

• Child Tax Credit

• Universal Credit

You can still claim for the Funeral Expenses Payment if you have applied for these benefits and are waiting for your claim to be processed.

The Funeral Expenses Payment can help pay towards the following.

• Burial fees and exclusive rights of burial in a particular plot (purchase of a plot)

• Cremation fee

• Doctor’s fee

• An amount towards the Funeral Director’s fees

• The cost surrounding the transportation of the deceased to the Funeral Director’s premises, within 50 miles

• Travel to the funeral

The payment will not usually cover all of the costs of the funeral.

Rules on your relationship with the deceased

You must be one of the following:

• the partner of the deceased when they died

• a close relative or close friend of the deceased

• the parent of a baby stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy

• the parent or person responsible for a deceased child who was under 16 (or under 20 and in approved education or training)

You might not get a Funeral Expenses Payment if another close relative of the deceased (such as a sibling or parent) is in work.

How to claim

Claim by phone by calling the Bereavement Service helpline.

Bereavement Service helpline

Telephone: 0800 731 0469
Welsh language: 0800 731 0453
Textphone: 0800 731 0464
Welsh language textphone: 0800 731 0456
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 731 0469  
Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 3.30pm
Find out about call charges

An adviser will also help you claim any other bereavement benefits you might be entitled to.

You can also claim by post. Download and fill in the claim form (SF200), then send it to the address on the form.