Action To Combat Funeral Poverty During National Grief Awareness Week

4th December 2024

Social Security Scotland highlights Funeral Support Payment

Social Security Scotland is helping to combat funeral poverty by raising awareness about Funeral Support Payment during National Grief Awareness Week (2 - 8 Dec).

It is providing funeral directors, faith groups and registrars with access to a range of downloadable resources about the payment. The resources include posters, leaflets, social media posts and video content.

Funeral Support Payment is available to people in Scotland who need help towards the cost of a funeral and get Universal Credit or other qualifying benefits. It can be used towards funeral costs for a baby, a child or an adult. This includes stillborn babies.

Legislation is also coming into effect on 2 December which will improve the way the benefit is delivered and provide further support to people who are struggling to pay funeral costs. The changes are based on feedback from past recipients and stakeholders, including the funeral industry, charities and bereavement support groups.

Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, said:

"We are all familiar with terms like child poverty and fuel poverty but funeral poverty is affecting more and more people. The average cost of a funeral in the UK is now £4,000, well beyond the means of many families.

“It is hugely important for us to mark the passing of our loved ones. Sadly, people experiencing the immediate shock and grief of a significant death often make arrangements for funerals with little understanding of the financial implications and with limited resources to pay big bills.

“Since Funeral Support Payment was launched in 2019, the Scottish Government has provided over £54.2 million in support to more than 28,000 bereaved people to help pay for funeral costs when they need it most."

Gordon Black, Director with Alex Black Funeral Care Glasgow, said:

“Funeral Support Payment is definitely important. Some 70% of our funerals are covered by Funeral Support Payment. We work in a lot of deprived areas and the payment is a real help to the people we serve.

“We have Funeral Support Payment leaflets and posters in all our offices and arrangement rooms and we mention it if a family says to us they are going to struggle with paying for the funeral."

National Grief Awareness Week takes place from 2 December to 8 December. It provides a dedicated period for individuals, organizations, and communities to come together to acknowledge and address the various aspects of grief.

The payment isn't a loan and doesn’t need to be paid back although Social Security Scotland will recover the payment from the estate of the person who died if they leave any financial assets.

The payment can cover burial and cremation costs. There is also a flat rate for any other expenses. This is £1,257.75 for most applications or £153.50 if the person who died had a funeral plan in place. It can also cover other costs such as travel expenses, documents and medical expenses.

People may be eligible for Funeral Support Payment if they meet all of the criteria below:

they live in Scotland
they or their partner are getting certain benefits or tax credits*
the person who died lived in the UK
the funeral is being held in the UK or in some circumstances in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland
they are applying after the person has died, until 6 months after the date of their funeral
they or their partner are responsible for the funeral costs
it is reasonable for them or their partner to accept responsibility for the funeral costs.
* Universal Credit (UC), Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit (CTC) and disability or severe disability element of Working Tax Credit.

People can find out more and apply online at mygov.scot/funeralsupport. People can also apply in person, over the phone or ask for a paper application form by post by calling us free on 0800 182 2222.

Before applying for Funeral Support Payment, people should register the death or stillbirth and give their funeral director (if they have one) consent to speak with Social Security Scotland about their application. This will minimise the time taken to process the application.