05/02/2026
Funeral Expenses Payment: A System Failing Bereaved Families When They Need It Most
When someone dies, their loved ones face an impossible collision of grief and urgency. Funeral directors often require a deposit before they will collect the body. Bills start mounting. While families should not feel rushed, the system creates inadvertent pressure to make decisions quickly.
For families on low incomes, Funeral Expenses Payment should be a lifeline. Instead, many find themselves battling a system riddled with barriers, delays, and outdated processes that add distress to an already devastating time.
A CLAIMS PROCESS STUCK IN THE PAST
In 2026, there is still no way to claim Funeral Expenses Payment online in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Families must either print a paper form and post it, or call the DWP directly. For those without a printer, and that is most people, this means finding somewhere to print and waiting for the postal system to deliver their claim. In a process where every day counts, this adds unnecessary time and stress.
The official government form states that families can post the form or take it to their local Jobcentre Plus. In theory, this should speed things up. In reality, we regularly hear from families who have travelled to their Jobcentre only to be turned away and told to post it instead. Even when staff do accept the form, it often simply goes into the normal post rather than any internal system, meaning the journey was pointless. For bereaved families who may have taken time off work or arranged childcare to make the trip, this is frustrating and disheartening.
The phone option is no easier. For many bereaved people, the thought of navigating a benefits call while grieving is overwhelming. Some need support from a family member or advisor to answer questions. Others find the process intimidating, particularly when faced with security checks before they can even begin.
NEW BARRIERS ON THE PHONE LINE
Recent changes mean claimants must now pass identity verification before proceeding with a claim. But what happens if someone is claiming a benefit for the first time and their details are not on the system? What about those receiving Housing Benefit through their local authority rather than DWP? These are questions we do not yet have clear answers to, and bereaved families are being caught in the uncertainty.
We have also seen people refused the opportunity to complete their claim because they cannot provide their own bank details, even when they have asked for the payment to be sent directly to their funeral director. Some people do not have a bank account. They are being blocked from progressing a claim for information that is not even needed, causing avoidable distress at the worst possible moment.
FORCED INTO URGENT DECISIONS
Advisors have refused to process claims without funeral director information. This pushes families into making rushed decisions about funeral arrangements before they have had time to think, compare options, or understand what they can afford.
Claims have also been refused because the caller does not know the National Insurance number of the person who died. This information is not always easy to find, particularly if the deceased lived alone or their paperwork is incomplete. Yet without it, the claim cannot proceed.
INCORRECT REFUSALS AND UNDERTRAINED STAFF
We have supported families who have been wrongly refused Funeral Expenses Payment. For example, claims rejected because a close relative was in a care establishment and not receiving qualifying benefits, even when evidence showed the relative was fully funded by the local authority and had no means to contribute.
What makes these errors particularly frustrating is that Funeral Expenses Payment is not a complicated benefit. The eligibility rules are relatively straightforward. Yet we continue to see decisions that suggest staff do not fully understand the criteria they are applying. For families already anxious about money, an incorrect refusal can be devastating, and challenging it takes time they do not have.
DELAYS CAUSING DISTRESS
Processing times for Funeral Expenses Payment currently fluctuate between three and six weeks. When combined with postal delays or failed phone attempts, families can be left waiting far longer.
The consequences are real. Bodies remain in mortuaries for extended periods. Funeral directors, who have their own costs to cover, are left waiting for payment. Families are left in limbo, unable to say goodbye.
A CAP THAT NO LONGER REFLECTS REALITY
Funeral Expenses Payment covers burial or cremation fees in full, but only up to £1,000 for other funeral director costs. This figure has remained unchanged for years, despite funeral costs rising significantly.
The average funeral in the UK now exceeds £4,000. In more affluent areas, even a simple service can cost far more. The result is a growing shortfall that families on the lowest incomes are expected to bridge, often with money they simply do not have.
THE HUMAN COST
When the system fails, families are forced into desperate measures. Some turn to payday loans or borrow from family. These decisions can lead to debt, stress, and relationship breakdown. Others fall prey to illegal money lenders. We work closely with Stop Loan Sharks, and we know that funeral costs are driving vulnerable people into the hands of criminals.
Some families feel forced into choices they are not comfortable with: direct cremations without a service, or the bare minimum they can afford rather than the farewell they wanted to give. In the most heartbreaking cases, people refuse to take responsibility altogether, and the funeral falls to the local authority as a public health funeral, stripped of personalisation and dignity.
FUNERAL DIRECTORS STEPPING IN
It is worth recognising that many funeral directors are doing everything they can to help. Some are providing funerals that barely cover their costs, purely out of compassion, because they know families are reliant on a Funeral Expenses Payment that may take weeks to arrive, if it arrives at all.
These funeral directors are absorbing financial risk to ensure families are not left without options. But this is not sustainable, and it should not fall on individual businesses to plug the gaps in a broken system.
A CALL FOR CHANGE
Funeral Expenses Payment exists because we recognise, as a society, that everyone deserves a dignified funeral regardless of their financial circumstances. But the current system is failing the very people it was designed to help.
We are calling for urgent reform:
• An online claims process that is accessible, fast, and fit for the modern world
• Faster processing times so families are not waiting weeks while a loved one remains in a mortuary
• Better training for staff to reduce incorrect refusals and ensure compassionate, accurate advice
• Flexibility on bank details so those without accounts are not excluded
• A review of the £1,000 cap to reflect the true cost of funerals today
• Removal of unnecessary barriers including rigid requirements for funeral director details and National Insurance numbers before a claim can begin
GET INVOLVED
Funeral Poverty Awareness Week runs from 2 to 8 February 2026. We need your voice to drive change. Share this article. Talk about funeral poverty. Ask your MP what they are doing to support bereaved families on low incomes.
No one should face debt, distress, or indignity simply because they cannot afford to bury someone they love.
