More and more British families are turning to online fundraising sites such as GoFundMe to cover the rising cost of relatives’ funerals, according to a new report.
The latest edition of Sun Life’s Cost of Dying report, which has been published annually for the last 22 years, said that even a simple attended funeral now costs £3828 on average, whilst a more traditional funeral costs over £4500.
On top of this families face extra frees to cover memorials, catering for the wake and flowers which typically takes costs up to £5140 and £5822.
This leaves many families feeling helpless when it comes to burying their loved ones, the report said.
Retail worker Lily Dun, 24, from Liverpool, raised money online for the funeral of her grandmother. She said: “At first when we were setting up the GoFundMe some of the family felt embarrassed that we had to do that, but we know of people who had done it before in similar situations. At the end of the day its about giving someone you love a dignified goodbye, but people were happy to help and that’s why it exists.”
She told Mersey News Live that the cost of her grandmother’s funeral made a difficult time for her family even harder: “Grief really just shouldn’t have a price on it, its one of the most horrible things then you have to add financial stress onto that!”
“A basic human right should be to have a funeral and celebrate the life of someone you loved, it should not be a luxury.”
The Cost of Dying report highlights that paying for funeral now affects the standards of living for 18% of families.
Funeral costs vary not only depending on their scale but on geography, with funerals in London costing more than £1000 more than those in the Northeast.
For those struggling most with covering the costs of a funeral the government offers a “Funeral Expenses payment” aiming to provided support for those in need. The service help to pay for costs such as:
- particular plot
- cremation fees, including the cost of the doctor’s certificate
- travel to arrange or go to the funeral
- the cost of moving the body within the UK, if it’s being moved more than 50 miles
- death certificates or other documents
You can also get up to £1,000 for any other funeral expenses, such as funeral director’s fees, flowers or the coffin.
However, this support does not usually cover all the costs related to a standard funeral.
