Let's Make Death A Local Body Election Issue
Councils increase these fees each year, typically by an adjustment for CPI. However, the rate increase in these fees is at their discretion and in some regions burial costs have seen double digit percentage increases while cremation costs have also been increased well beyond CPI (with the single biggest increase being 44%).
Funeral Directors Association Chief Executive, Gillian Boyes, says burial and cremation costs are one of the biggest elements of a funeral bill so when those jump so significantly funerals suddenly seem a lot more expensive.
'This impacts everyone and especially those who are struggling financially who may be eligible for support through the WINZ Funeral Grant but find that it barely covers these basic Council costs,' says Ms Boyes.
The WINZ Funeral Grant of $2,616.12 would not cover Council fees for burials in most regions across New Zealand, where those fees can be as high as $7,000.00 in New Plymouth and the nationwide average is over $4,000.00.
While cremation is a cheaper option, significant cost increases for this service in some regions (Hastings 34%, Nelson 22% and Invercargill 15%) to over $1,000.00 mean the WINZ Funeral Grant does not stretch far enough beyond that to cover other essential costs, let alone the personal touches families often wish to include for a meaningful farewell.
'We have challenged Councils that have some of the biggest increases in these costs to explain why, and they have indicated it is because their actual operating costs are going up much more than by CPI, citing the example of gas cost increases for crematoriums of 20%-30%.
'We acknowledge these challenges and understand that big jumps in crematorium fees reflect a reset based on actual operational costs with a view to potential future annual fee increases reverting to CPI adjustments.
'However, we'd argue the same principle should apply for the WINZ Funeral Grant, which is only ever increased annually by CPI but from an unrealistically low base that does not reflect actual costs (such as Council burial and cremation fees). This means the gap between the grant and actual basic funeral costs is widening insurmountably for many.
'In this context, we call on central Government to do a 'reset' increase in the Funeral Grant to match Councils' discretionary 'resets' of their fees. We would also like to see a commitment to increasing the WINZ Funeral Grant to match the average increase in Council fees for burials and cremation, rather than just CPI, to better match actual cost increases going forward,' says Ms Boyes.
The Funeral Directors Association has been calling for a substantive increase in the WINZ Funeral Grant for some time. They note another Government-funded funeral grant, the ACC Funeral Grant is currently set at $7,990.30.
'The Minister's response to our calls for an increase in the WINZ Funeral Grant has been that it is being increased in line with inflation. But inflation on not very much in the first place is still not very much.
'The sad reality is that a time when a very low-income family is hurting and grieving and just wants to remember their loved one, they are going to be faced with the added pain of a big bill with fixed basic costs that just keep going up,' says Ms Boyes.
'Rising cemetery and cremation fees are placing an unsustainable financial burden on low-income families at a time of deep grief,' says Ms Boyes. 'The current WINZ Funeral Grant no longer reflects the true cost of even a basic farewell, especially where council fees are significant. We urgently need a review to ensure fair support for grieving families and to prevent funeral providers from carrying the reputational cost of a system that's no longer fit for purpose.'
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