Government funeral support covers around half the cost of a funeral
In the UK, it now costs an average of £3,828 for a simple attended funeral, or £4,510 for a more traditional one. Our previous research on the Cost of Dying explored the wider financial pressures families can face when someone dies, including the importance of understanding what financial protection, such as life insurance, may be in place. Following this, we wanted to understand how far government support goes towards covering funeral costs.
Using new data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Social Security Scotland and Northern Ireland’s Department for Communities, we analysed five years of funeral support payments across the UK.
Our analysis found that the average support payment was equivalent to less than half of the average funeral cost, leaving an estimated shortfall of around £1,900 to £2,400 depending on where families live.
Average funeral support payments across the UK
Government funeral support is designed to help with essential costs such as burial or cremation fees, travel and some funeral director expenses, but it does not usually cover the full cost of a funeral.
Funeral support differs across the UK because England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland operate separate schemes. Using the latest full-year government FOI data available, the average Funeral Expenses Payment in England and Wales was £2,030 in 2024/25. In the same year, the average Funeral Support Payment in Scotland was £2,104, while Northern Ireland’s average Funeral Expenses Payment was £1,503.
Nation / Scheme | Average support payment (2024/25) | SunLife average funeral cost (2025) | Approx. share covered | Approx. shortfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
England and Wales | £2,030 | £4,383[1] | 46% | £2,353 |
Scotland | £2,104 | £4,345 | 48% | £2,242 |
Northern Ireland | £1,503 | £3,441 | 44% | £1,938 |
More recent figures are available for Scotland and Northern Ireland, where average payments rose to £2,180 and £1,534 respectively in 2025/26. Comparable 2025/26 data was not available from DWP for England and Wales at the time of analysis.
Across all three schemes, the average support payment was equivalent to less than half of the average cost of a funeral. Support covered the highest share of funeral costs in Scotland, where the average payment was equivalent to around 48% of the average funeral cost. This compared with around 46% in England and Wales and 44% in Northern Ireland.
This means families receiving the average payment could still face an estimated shortfall of around £1,900 to £2,400 towards the cost of a funeral, depending on where they live.
Personal Finance & Insurance Expert
Expert Quote
“Funeral costs can be difficult for families to plan for,. Understanding what financial support may be available, alongside any savings or life insurance already in place, can help families get a clearer picture of how these costs could be covered.
“Planning ahead won’t remove the emotional difficulty of losing someone, but having conversations about finances and understanding what protection is in place can make some of the practical decisions easier at an already difficult time.”
How has funeral support changed over time?
Average funeral support payments have increased across all three schemes in recent years, although the rate of increase differs across the UK.
In England and Wales, the average Funeral Expenses Payment increased from £1,838 in 2020/21 to £2,030 in 2024/25, a rise of around 10%. Scotland saw a larger increase over the same period, with the average Funeral Support Payment rising from £1,791 to £2,104, up around 17%.
Northern Ireland has also seen average payments increase. From 2021/22 to 2025/26, the average Funeral Expenses Payment rose from £1,393 to £1,534, an increase of around 10%.
How funeral support varies by region in England and Wales
Looking across England and Wales, the amount families receive can vary significantly by region, and the highest average awards aren’t always the ones that go furthest against local funeral costs.
Region | Average DWP award 2024/25 | SunLife 2025 funeral cost[2] | Approx. share covered |
|---|---|---|---|
London | £2,790 | £5,449 | 51% |
West Midlands | £2,156 | £4,233 | 51% |
Yorkshire and Humberside | £1,916 | £4,031 | 48% |
North East | £1,855 | £4,047 | 46% |
South West | £1,806 | £3,966 | 46% |
Wales | £1,839 | £4,094 | 45% |
North West | £1,905 | £4,297 | 44% |
East Midlands | £1,870 | £4,233 | 44% |
East of England | £2,000 | £4,943 | 41% |
South East | £1,852 | £4,943 | 38% |
London had the highest average award at £2,790, but it also has the highest average funeral cost at £5,449. Even so, the average payment was equivalent to around 51% of local funeral costs, the highest proportion among the regions analysed.
By comparison, families in the South East received an average amount of £1,852, equivalent to around 38% of the average funeral cost for the wider South East and East of England region. The East of England also had one of the largest estimated gaps, with the average payment covering around 41%.
The West Midlands also stands out. Its average amount of support of £2,156 was equivalent to around 51% of local funeral costs, compared with just 44% in the East Midlands, despite both being compared against the same SunLife regional funeral-cost figure.
How often funeral support applications are unsuccessful
Across the UK, the number of funeral support applications has remained broadly stable in recent years, but the proportion of unsuccessful applications has increased overall.
There were 50,074 applications in 2021/22 and 50,098 in 2024/25. Over the same period, the combined UK rate of unsuccessful applications increased from 27.2% to 29.8%, meaning around three in 10 recorded applications were unsuccessful in 2024/25. The rate peaked at 31.0% in 2022/23 before falling slightly over the following two years.
Applications were broadly flat between 2021/22 and 2024/25. The figures show that the change in application numbers does not explain the increase in unsuccessful applications rate, but do not indicate what caused the rise.
Funeral support applications and outcomes across the UK
Financial year | UK applications | UK awards | UK refusals | UK withdrawals | UK refusal rate | UK expenditure (£m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021/22 | 50,074 | 34,632 | 13,760 | 2,262 | 27.2% | £63.28m |
2022/23 | 51,055 | 32,368 | 15,514 | 2,223 | 31.0% | £58.52m |
2023/24 | 52,850 | 35,877 | 16,531 | 2,867 | 29.9% | £68.30m |
2024/25 | 50,098 | 32,493 | 14,622 | 2,018 | 29.8% | £65.14m |
The picture differs across the three schemes. In England and Wales, the rate of unsuccessful applications increased from 29.5% in 2020/21 to 32.9% in 2024/25. Scotland saw a larger increase, from 13.1% to 18.8% over the same period. Northern Ireland moved in the opposite direction, with the rate of unsuccessful applications falling from 20.1% in 2021/22 to 16.8% in 2025/26.
There is less information available on why applications are unsuccessful in Scotland. In response to our Freedom of Information request, Social Security Scotland confirmed that it does not hold aggregated internal or external reporting on refusal reasons. Greater visibility around these decisions could help applicants and advisers understand why applications are unsuccessful.
In England and Wales, the most common reason for an application to be unsuccessful has remained unchanged since 2021/22: the applicant is not considered responsible for the funeral because an immediate family member is not receiving a qualifying benefit. This can leave dependents and next of kin facing funeral costs without being eligible for financial support themselves, making the rules around who is considered the ‘responsible person’ difficult for some families to navigate.
There is also evidence that some unsuccessful applications are challenged. In 2022/23, nearly three in 10 appeals heard at tribunal in England and Wales were decided in the appellant’s favour, up from fewer than two in 10 in 2020/21. However, the number of appeals heard was relatively small, and comparable DWP data is not available beyond 2022/23.
Processing times are improving in parts of the UK
There are signs that funeral support applications are being processed more quickly in parts of the UK, although the way processing times are measured differs between schemes^.
In England and Wales, the average processing time for Funeral Expenses Payment applications fell from 20 working days in 2020/21 to 12 working days in 2024/25, a 40% reduction over five years.
Northern Ireland has also seen processing times improve overall. The mean processing time fell from 9.65 days in 2021/22 to 6.07 days in 2025/26, although there was some fluctuation during the period.
In Scotland, where processing times are reported using the median rather than the mean, the typical processing time rose from 13 days to a peak of 29 days during the period before falling back to 13 days in the latest year.
While the figures aren’t directly comparable between all three schemes, each can be used to track how processing times have changed over time. England and Wales and Northern Ireland have both seen shorter processing times, while Scotland’s median has returned to its earlier level after a period of longer waits.
What families can do next
If you’re facing funeral costs and think you may be eligible for financial support, it can help to check the eligibility criteria as early as possible. Eligibility depends on a number of factors, including who is responsible for arranging the funeral and the benefit circumstances of both the person who has died and the person applying.
If you’re unsure whether you qualify, free independent advice is available from Citizens Advice and Quaker Social Action’s Down to Earth project. Both organisations can provide practical guidance to families dealing with funeral costs, including support with applications and, where necessary, appeals.
Planning ahead can also make these costs easier to understand and prepare for. Looking at the likely cost of a funeral, what support may be available and whether you have financial protection in place can all help build a clearer picture. Our life insurance guide explains how cover can help protect the people who depend on you financially.
Methodology
This analysis combines Freedom of Information responses from the Department for Work and Pensions, Social Security Scotland and Northern Ireland’s Department for Communities, alongside SunLife’s 2025 Cost of Dying data and Social Security Scotland’s published Funeral Support Payment tables.
UK-wide totals combine each nation’s own figures for applications, awards, refusals and expenditure. As the schemes differ slightly in how they are structured and reported, these figures should be treated as a combined estimate rather than an official cross-government statistic.
To compare support with funeral costs, we matched the latest full-year government payment data for 2024/25 with SunLife’s 2025 regional funeral-cost figures.
