The price to administering a funeral and holding a wake for a loved one has increased over the past year with the average “cost of dying” now at more than £9,600.
The average bill for a basic funeral rose from £3,953 in 2022 to £4,141 in 2023. With extra professional fees and other send-off costs, the total bill went up from £9,200 in 2022 to £9,658 in 2023.
The Cost of Dying report by SunLife show the biggest single cost increase over the past year was for professional fees, increasing six percent. These now make up £2,749 of the total bill.
Send-off costs refer to optional features such as transport, catering, the wake and flowers. These have increased to £2,768 ove rthe past year, up 3.7 percent.
Mark Screeton, CEO at SunLife, said: “The cost of a basic funeral has increased 126 percent since 2004 – far higher than the rate of inflation over the same period.
“Combine this with the fact that most people do not leave enough money behind to pay for their own funeral and it is understandable that so many families across the UK are struggling to cover the cost.”
Average funeral costs are the most expensive in London, at £5,171, despite dropping by 2.1 percent over the past year.
Funeral costs have increased in most regions, going up the most in South West England, by more than 10 percent, to £4,032.
- London – £5,171 – down 2.1 percent
- South East & East of England – £4,643 – up eight percent
- Wales – £4,286 – up 6.8 percent
- East & West Midlands – £4,150 – up 6.6 percent
- Yorkshire and the Humber – £4,065 – up 8.6 percent
- South West England – £4,032 – up 10.8 percent
- Scotland – £4,030 – up 4.7 percent
- North East England – £3,973 – up 8.3 percent
- North West England – £3,802 – down 0.8 percent
- Northern Ireland – £3,256 – down 1.8 percent.
Seven in 10 people put aside funds to pay for their funeral but unfortunately only 54 percent of these people put aside enough funds to cover all the costs.
Relatives have to find on average £2,716 to foot the bill in 2023, £116 more than the previous year. Over a third of people used their savings and investments to pay the money, while a quarter of people paid the bill using a credit card.
Another 25 percent of respondents had to borrow money from a friend or relative. Some people even resorted to selling their belongings to cover the costs, with 18 percent of people doing this.
One way to keep costs down for a funeral is to go for a direct cremation or a direct burial, which costed £1,498 and £1,657 respectively in 2023.
Mr Screeton spoke about other things people can do to reduce their costs. He said: “Top tips including holding a home wake, having a cheaper coffin, spending less on flowers, using social media instead of announcements in the paper, or using your own cars instead of limousines.
“For those who are not having to worry about a funeral just yet, something to consider would be to start the conversation with loved ones, so they know what you do and don’t want them to spend money on, and where the money will come from.
“You may also wish to make some provision to cover your funeral costs so that when the time comes, your loved ones are not having to worry about money at an emotionally difficult time.”
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