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What is the funeral support payment

Funeral support payment is a one-off grant to help with the costs of a funeral if you are on a low income. The funeral may be of a partner, family member or friend. It could also be the funeral of a child who is still-born.

Funeral support payment has replaced the social fund funeral payment in Scotland.

Who can get a funeral support payment

You can get a funeral support payment if:

  • you normally live in Scotland
  • you have accepted responsibility for the funeral and it is reasonable for you to have accepted responsibility
  • you are getting a qualifying benefit
  • the funeral takes place in the UK. There are some exceptions, for example, for certain EEA nationals where the funeral takes place elsewhere in Europe or in exceptional circumstances where the funeral is held abroad
  • funeral support payment or a social fund funeral payment has not already been paid in respect of the person who has died
  • the person who has died usually lived in the UK
  • you are not a ‘person subject to immigration control’
  • you claim at the right time.

Responsibility for the funeral expenses

To qualify for funeral support payment, you or your partner must have accepted responsibility for the costs of the funeral and it must be reasonable to have accepted responsibility. In deciding whether it is reasonable for you to have taken responsibility for the funeral costs, Social Security Scotland must take into account whether the person who has died had a closer relative and also any other relevant factors. See below for more about what 'closer relative' means.

Usually, it will be reasonable for the person who has the closest family relationship to the person who has died to take responsibility for the funeral expenses, but there are other circumstances, such as estrangement, which may be relevant and may mean that you are entitled even if there is a closer family member.

Meaning of 'closer relative'

In deciding whether it is reasonable for you or your partner to have accepted responsibility for funeral expenses, Social Security Scotland looks at whether there is a closer relative of the person who has died. It also considers any other relevant factors, such as whether closer relatives were estranged from the person who has died.

If an adult has died, in deciding whether there is a closer relative, the following order of hierarchy is used:

  1. the spouse or civil partner, unless they were permanently separated at the time of the death
  2. living with the adult as if they were married to each other for least 6 months (or if the adult was in hospital before death, had been living together for six months when the adult was admitted to hospital)
  3. the adult’s child
  4. the adult’s parent
  5. the adult’s brother or sister
  6. the adult’s grandparent
  7. the adult’s grandchild
  8. the adult’s uncle or aunt
  9. the adult’s cousin
  10. the adult’s niece or nephew
  11. a friend of long standing of the adult

 If a child has died in deciding whether there is a closer relative, the following order of hierarchy is used:

  1. the child’s parent or another person who had parental rights and responsibilities for the child (but not a local authority)
  2. the child’s brother or sister
  3. the child’s grandparent
  4. the child’s uncle or aunt
  5. the child’s cousin
  6. the child’s niece or nephew
  7. a friend of long standing of the child

Usually, it will be reasonable for the person who has the closest family relationship to the person who has died to take responsibility for the funeral expenses. But there are other circumstances, such as estrangement, which may be relevant and may mean that you are entitled even if there is a closer family member.

If there is another family member at the same level on the table of hierarchy, but no one above you, Social Security Scotland should accept that it is reasonable for you to accept responsibility without looking at that other person's circumstances.

If more than one person applies for a funeral support payment, the application of the person who is the closest relative will be looked at first. If that person is entitled, then the other person cannot be entitled. If more than one person applies, they are equally close relatives to the person who has died and they cannot decide whose application should proceed, Social Security Scotland will decide.

If you are unhappy with a decision which Social Security Scotland makes about your application you can challenge this decision.

Getting a ‘qualifying benefit’

To qualify for funeral support payment, you or your partner must be getting one of the following:

  • universal credit
  • income support
  • income-based jobseeker’s allowance
  • income-related employment and support allowance
  • housing benefit
  • pension credit

You can be entitled if you were getting universal credit within the last month but it has now stopped.

Claim at the right time

You can claim at any time from the date the person died until six months after the funeral. 

What does a funeral support payment cover

Funeral support payment covers:

  • the cost of a burial plot, burial fees and the cost of grave-digging
  • cremation fees including the cost of removing a pacemaker
  • the cost of disposal by alkaline hydrolysis
  • if required, the costs of any medical references and medical certificates
  • the costs of documents required to release the assets of the person who died
  • transport costs for the amount of journeys in excess of 80 kilometres, that are to:
    • transport the body within the UK to a funeral director’s premises or to a place of rest
    • transport the coffin and bearers in a hearse and the mourners in another vehicle from the funeral director’s premises or place of rest to the funeral.
  • cost of one return journey undertaken to make arrangements for the funeral, but not exceeding the cost of a return journey from your home to the place of the funeral
  • a payment of £1,279.15 towards other funeral expenses, or £156.10 if the person who has died was aged 18 or over when s/he died and had a pre-paid funeral plan.

Note that if a funeral takes place outside the UK, a funeral support payment will only cover the costs that would have been payable if the funeral had taken place in the local authority area where the person who died normally lived.

Some assets belonging to the person who has died can be deducted from funeral support payment. See the next paragraph.

Deductions from awards

The following are deducted from the amount of a funeral support payment:

  • the deceased's assets;
  • an insurance policy, occupational pension scheme, burial club or similar arrangement;
  • a funeral grant paid by the government to someone who was getting a war disablement pension;
  • any amount available from a pre-paid funeral plan. Where the plan has not been paid in full, any sum payable under the plan is deducted. Where the plan was paid in full, the amount payable for the types of costs covered by the funeral support payment is deducted.

Note: no deduction is made if the person who has died was under 18.

Claiming a funeral support payment

To claim you can:

  • phone Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222
  • claim online at mygov.scot
  • download a paper claim form from mygov.scot

If you disagree with the decision made by Social Security Scotland about your funeral support payment you can challenge this decision.

More information

Try the eLearning about paying for funerals written by Citizens Advice Scotland with support from CPAG in Scotland. 

For in-depth information about funeral support payment, see chapter 65 of the Welfare benefits handbook. You'll need a subscription to be able to log in and read the content.

Find guidance about funeral support payment on Social Security Scotland's website.

Read the funeral support payment regulations on the legislation.gov.uk website.