We can pay some burial, cremation or alkaline hydrolysis costs as part of Funeral Support Payment.
To calculate what costs to award the client, make sure you have a copy of the funeral bill or a note of the costs from the funeral director.
Do not include costs that are already covered by a funeral plan. For more information, go to the funeral plan guidance.
Funeral Support Payment regulations have changed. You no longer need to complete a cost comparison if the funeral is taking place outside the local authority area of the person who died. If you think the costs are reasonable, you should award the client’s actual costs using the following guidance:
If you do not think the costs are reasonable, speak to your line manager. If you and your line manager need further support, raise a case query with the Decision Support Team for advice on what costs you should award.
You still need to complete a cost comparison for funerals outside the UK.
An applicant may only be responsible for part of the funeral costs. If this is the case, you should confirm how costs are being shared as part of your checklist call.
You should award burial/cremation/alkaline hydrolysis and transport costs based on how the applicant has shared these costs. For example, if the applicant is paying 50% of the costs, you should award half of the total amount. If the applicant is paying for something specific, such as the burial plot, then you should award this cost.
You should still award the full flat-rate payment to the applicant. This is because only one award of Funeral Support Payment can be made for a funeral. Read the Double Claims for Funeral Support Payment guidance if you get more than one application for the same funeral.
Before calculating any costs, you should identify the local authority area of the person who died.
To do this, check the application and confirm that the address we have for the person who died is the same as their address on SPM.
If the addresses match, you should make a note of person who died’s local authority area.
If the addresses do not match or there’s no record, ask for the ordinary residence of the person who died on your call to the applicant.
A person’s ordinary residence is the place where they live for settled purposes as part of their normal life. This could be for a short or a long period. The important thing is that they voluntarily choose to live there as part of their everyday life. This does not apply to children or people who legally cannot make their own decisions.
It’s possible the person who died may have been living somewhere other than their ordinary residence at the time of their death. For example, they may have been on holiday, staying with family or in hospital. In cases like this, you’ll need to confirm the person who died’s ordinary residence with the applicant. Once you have done this, make a note of the local authority area.
If you’re finding it difficult to confirm ordinary residence, please refer the case to the Decision Support Team.
There are two categories of cremation costs that can be paid:
We can pay the cost of some medical procedures needed before the cremation can go ahead. For example, the removal of a pacemaker or other medical implants.
Confirm with the funeral director whether there were any medical devices removed and the cost to remove them.
If a registered medical practitioner removed the device, we can pay the actual cost as long as you consider it reasonable. You should look at the facts of the case when deciding how much to award.
If the device was removed by someone who’s not a registered medical practitioner, such as a funeral director, we can pay up to £25.35 if you consider the cost reasonable. Again, you should look at the facts of the case when deciding how much to award.
Accepted:
not accepted:
Contact the Decision Support Team for advice if the implant being removed is not on the list. Record the medical device removal costs on SPM.
The cremation costs must be reasonable in order to be paid.
To help assess whether the cremation costs are reasonable, you should consider the standard costs for each local authority.
These costs should only be used as a reference point. You should always look at the applicant’s actual costs when deciding the amount to be paid.
If the costs provided seem unusually high, ask the applicant and/or funeral director if there’s a special reason for the costs. You can then consider whether the costs are reasonable.
An example of reasonable higher costs might be the funeral taking place on a weekend because of faith reasons.
You should always decide whether the costs are reasonable based on the particular facts of the case. If you’re unsure, speak to your line manager for advice.
There are three categories of burial costs that can be paid:
Some miscellaneous burial costs that fall within these categories are:
We can pay the above costs if the local authority or operator responsible for the burial is charging for them.
Miscellaneous burial costs can be added to the plot or interment boxes in SPM if all costs are itemised.
Please note: this list is not exhaustive and if any other miscellaneous burial costs come up, check if they’re included in any of the three categories set out above. If not, the flat-rate payment should help pay for these costs.
Burial costs must be reasonable in order to be paid.
To help assess whether the burial costs are reasonable, view the standard costs for each local authority.
These costs should only be used as a reference point. You should always look at the applicant’s actual costs when deciding the amount to be paid.
If the costs provided seem unusually high, ask the applicant and/or funeral director if there’s a special reason for the costs. You can then consider whether the costs are reasonable.
An example of reasonable higher costs might be the funeral taking place on a weekend because of faith reasons.
You should always decide whether the costs are reasonable based on the particular facts of the case. If you’re unsure, speak to your line manager for advice.
For direct/simple funerals, you should visit the website of the local authority or private crematorium to find out what burial/cremation costs to pay.
If the costs are not available online, you should contact the relevant business to find out the costs charged to the funeral director.
You do not need to have a funeral date. If you have enough evidence showing a funeral is taking place, you can process the application.
For direct/simple funerals that take place outside the person who died’s local authority area, you should award the actual costs.
If the person who died had a funeral plan, you must find out if it’s fully paid up and what burial/cremation/alkaline hydrolysis costs are covered.
Award the lower flat rate to the client if the person who died was aged 18 or over and either:
If the plan is not fully paid and the provider only agrees to honour part of it, raise a case query with the Decision Support Team.
Sometimes funeral providers cancel plans not fully paid up and instead return premiums or a cash payment.
In these cases, award the higher flat-rate payment. Deduct from the total award amount any premiums or cash payments that are available and can help pay funeral costs. For further guidance, go to Assessing available funds from the deceased’s estate.
If the provider of the plan has gone into administration (or liquidation), do not award the lower rate straight away. First check if the provider:
If the provider in administration agreed to honour or transferred the plans to another provider, case managers should award the lower rate.
If the provider in administration is not going to honour the plans, case managers should award the higher rate.
Raise a case query with the Decision Support Team if the plan is not fully paid and the provider in administration agrees to only honour part of it.
Read the Funeral Support Payment flat-rate payment guidance for further information on how funeral plans affect the amount awarded.
Alkaline hydrolysis costs that can be paid are fees levied by the operator. This is the local authority or person responsible for the operation of the alkaline hydrolysis facility.
Medical implants do not need removed before alkaline hydrolysis. For this reason, we do not pay the cost of medical procedures such as the removal of a pacemaker or other medical implants.