QSA highlights ‘shocking’ funeral findings
'...in many cases the rising funeral costs outstripped inflation.'
Quaker Social Action (QSA) is calling for increases and reform to government funeral support payments, as funeral costs rose again last year.
Responding to the SunLife Cost of Dying 2025 report, QSA said that in many cases the rising funeral costs outstripped inflation.
The research found that, in 2024, many people who experienced ‘notable financial concerns’ when paying for a funeral went into debt to cover the costs, taking out an average of £3,109 on loans and credit cards. Of those in ‘notable financial concern’, one in three (thirty-four per cent) had to cut back on essentials like food; and one in four (twenty-four per cent) struggled to pay essential bills and rent. Meanwhile, three in four (seventy-five per cent) experienced an impact on their mental health.
The report also found that costs for the type of ‘attended funeral’ that it tracks, have reached an all-time high of £4,285, up nearly four per cent from 2023. An ‘attended funeral’ is one where mourners are present at the service.
QSA said that, through its Down to Earth service, the staff see the impact that these struggles have on people’s lives every day. ‘Although there are less expensive funeral options available, including those where mourners can attend, the cost of a “direct”, i.e. unattended cremation, also rose, and this was at the highest rate of all the funeral types tracked – up 6.7% to £1,597,’ Lindesay Mace, Down to Earth co-manager, said.
‘Cremation fees could be a key driver behind the price rises this year, with SunLife finding a rise of 11% in the average of the cremation fees they track. However, in some parts of the UK, funeral director fees are also pushing up overall costs, with particularly high increases in the South East & East of England (9.8%), London (15.6%) and North West England (17.3%).’
Lindesay Mace said that, while it was good to see that the percentage of people facing ‘notable financial concerns’ had dropped slightly (from twenty per cent in 2023 to eighteen per cent in 2024), this was ‘surprising, as it is not the experience of our funeral costs advice service. Last year saw the number of people getting in touch with us rise by 40%, a bigger increase than in 2023’.
The report also included wellbeing data, which QSA worked with SunLife to include in its 2024 report.
QSA’s Down to Earth is calling for: increases to funeral support payments, so that these cover the cost of the simplest attended funeral, and reforms to their eligibility criteria. Other recommendations include: statutory minimum standards for council funerals, to avoid the current ‘postcode lottery’, and more transparency within the sector, so people are fully aware of the funeral costs.
