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  1. Home
  2. Benefits, rates and forms
  3. A-Z benefits and payments
  4. Funeral Grant

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Funeral Grant

A Funeral Grant can help with some of the funeral costs of someone who has died.

Who can get it

You may be able to get a Funeral Grant if someone has died and you are either their:

  • partner
  • child, or
  • parent/guardian (if they are under 18).

If you are none of these, you may be able to get a Funeral Grant if you're arranging a funeral for someone who's 18 or over and single (with or without children).

In all cases, the person who died must have normally lived in New Zealand.

Income and assets

If you are the deceased person's partner or parent/guardian, it will also depend on your income and assets.

It will also depend on the deceased person's assets too.

When you can't get a Funeral Grant

Funeral costs can also be covered by:

  • another organisation, eg, ACC or Veteran's Affairs
  • prepaid funeral cover.

If there is other help with costs, you may not be able to get a Funeral Grant.

If you are the deceased person's partner or parent/guardian, your annual income must be below a certain amount.

Find out what's counted as income

If you are the deceased person's partner

If you are: Your annual income (before tax) must be less than:
16 - 17 years (with no children) $28,340.52
18+ years (with no children) $32,571.24
A parent with 1 child $39,524.16
A parent with 2 or more children $41,640.56

If you are the deceased person's parent/guardian

If you are: Your annual income (before tax) must be less than:
Single, 16 - 17 years (with no other children) $28,340.52
Single, 18+ years (with no other children) $32,571.24

Married, in a civil union or de facto relationship (with or without other children)

$47,310.12
Single with 1 other child $39,524.16
Single with 2 or more other children $41,640.56

We'll look at the assets of:

  • the deceased person, and
  • the deceased person's partner or parent/guardian.

If you are the deceased person's partner or parent/guardian, there are some family and personal assets that we don't count as assets.

Find out what's counted as assets

We'll compare the amount of assets to the total funeral expenses. Funeral expenses include:

  • professional services to prepare the body for cremation or burial
  • cost of a casket
  • newspaper notice costs
  • hearse fees
  • compulsory fees for the purchase of a burial plot
  • cremation fees.

Deceased person's assets

If the person who died has assets, we'll count the total amount of their assets. We'll then deduct this from the total funeral expenses.

For example:

  1. Their assets are $1,500.
  2. The total funeral expenses are $2,000.
  3. We deduct the assets from the funeral expenses ($2,000-$1,500).
  4. The difference is $500.
  5. We'll pay $500 for the Funeral Grant.

The maximum Funeral Grant payment is $2,280.72. We can only pay up to this amount, even if the difference is more than that.

You are the deceased person's partner or parent/guardian

If you have assets, we'll count:

  • some of your assets (we won't count the first $1,988.20 of your assets), and
  • the total amount of the deceased person's assets.

For example:

  1. Your assets are $2,000. We won't count the first $1,988.20. This means we'll count $11.80 of your assets.
  2. This is added to the deceased person's total asset amount. So if the deceased person's assets are $1,500, the total amount of assets will be $1,511.80.
  3. We deduct the assets from the funeral expenses. If the funeral expenses are $2,000, the difference is $488.20.
  4. We'll pay $488.20 for the Funeral Grant.

The maximum Funeral Grant payment is $2,280.72. We can only pay up to this amount, even if the difference is more than that.

The most you can be paid is $2,280.72. It depends on the money or assets the person who died had.

The Funeral Grant can be used towards costs such as:

  • professional services for preparing the body for cremation or burial (for example, embalming)
  • the cost of a casket
  • newspaper notice costs
  • hearse fees
  • compulsory fees for buying a burial plot
  • cremation fees.

There are some costs it can't be used for. If you want to check if a cost can be included, contact us.

The person applying for a Funeral Grant must be able to provide estate details or other information about the person who has died (including details about any children they are responsible for).

Step 1: Complete the form

You need to complete an application form to apply for a Funeral Grant.

linksFuneral Grant Application Form (PDF 169.43KB)

Step 2: Gather your documents

You will need to provide:

  • confirmation of death, eg a death certificate (you can order this online here), or a newspaper death notice. If you don’t have one, please tell us as we may be able to get this information
  • details of the funeral expenses - the itemised funeral account, and if it's already paid, the original receipt and proof of a bank account number for the person who paid it
  • proof of who you are (eg driver's licence, passport, or business card if you are applying on behalf of a funeral home).

You may also need to provide details about assets and income.

Step 3: Send in your documents

Drop the completed form and your documents off at one of our service centres, or you can post it in to us.

Find your nearest service centre

Related

Travel to a funeral or tangi
What happens to a client's payments when they die
Information once someone's died and services that might be available to you
Manuals and procedures
Order a death certificate online

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