Guide
If the person who died was 18 or over
Funeral Support Payment will not usually cover the full cost of a funeral. The average total payment is £1,500, but the amount you get will depend on a number of factors.
It can help pay towards:
- burial or cremation costs
- funeral costs
- your travel costs
- transport costs to move the person who died
- document costs
- medical costs
Costs you'll be able to get help with
Other costs you might be able to get help with
What affects how much you can get
The amount you get paid will depend on how much money was left by the person who died.
Your payment will be less if the person who died left any money which could cover some, or all, of the funeral expenses.
This includes:
- funds belonging to the person who died
- insurance policies
- funeral plans
- money due from pensions or burial clubs
Recovering payments
You'll need to use money from the person's estate to pay funeral expenses and debts before anything else.
Social Security Scotland can recover your Funeral Support Payment if money becomes available from the person's estate. They'll take back either some or all of the payment.
Examples of how much you could get
Example A
The person who died was over 18 and lived in the Glasgow City Council area. They had £250 in personal savings, but no funeral plan or insurance.
The person who's responsible for the funeral lives in Aberdeenshire and needed to travel from Aberdeenshire to Glasgow for the funeral. They would be able to get a total payment of £1,498.35.
Payment | Amount |
---|---|
Cremation costs This is the fee charged by the local council for cremation in Glasgow City. |
£670 |
Funeral costs This is a fixed amount of £1,000 as the person who died did not have a funeral plan or funeral insurance. |
£1,000 |
Travel costs The person responsible for the funeral lived in Aberdeenshire and needed to travel from Aberdeenshire to Glasgow for the funeral. |
£58 |
Transport costs There were no costs to move the person who died over 50 miles to the funeral location. |
£0 |
Document costs The person responsible for the funeral did not need to pay for any documents like a copy of the death certificate. |
£0 |
Other costs This is the amount paid for removing a pacemaker. |
£20.35 |
Deductions The person who died had £250 in private bank accounts, which is deducted. |
-£250 |
Total | £1,498.35 |
Example B
The person who died was over 18 and lived and died in Falkirk. They did not have any savings but did have a funeral plan. The funeral plan didn't include the cost of the burial. The person who's responsible for the funeral would be able to get a total payment of £1,551.05.
Payment | Amount |
---|---|
Burial costs This is the fee charged by the local council for burial in Falkirk. |
£1,429 |
Funeral costs This is a fixed amount of £122.05 as the person who died had a funeral plan. |
£122.05 |
Travel costs The person responsible for the funeral did not have any travel costs to plan or attend the funeral. |
£0 |
Transport costs There were no costs to move the person who died over 50 miles to the funeral location. |
£0 |
Document costs The person responsible for the funeral did not need to pay for any documents like a copy of the death certificate. |
£0 |
Other costs There were no costs for any medical procedures. |
£0 |
Deductions No money would be deducted as the person who died did not have any immediately accessible money to help pay for the funeral. |
-£0 |
Total | £1,551.05 |