Financial Support Help

Guidance on available funeral support and financial assistance options.

How It Works - Find a Funeral Plan

Your loved one may have taken out a funeral plan. The NAFPP may be able to help.

The National Association of Funeral Plan Providers represents the growing prepaid funeral plan sector. Regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority commenced in 2022. There are currently twenty-nine organisations holding authorisations to provide funeral plans to UK
consumers. All but three are members of the NAFPP. These range from large national brand names to local funeral directing firms and a number of smaller specialist providers. We promote and support the industry. We campaign for a stable and sustainable future for
funeral plans. Regulation by the FCA should provide additional peace of mind for prospective customers. Planholders can be secure in the knowledge that the arrangements aThe NAFPP is pleased to offer our Find My Plan service. This is a single online search form to trace any lost prepaid funeral plan. Your application will be sent to whichever institutions you choose. There is no need to pay a fee to find your old plan.

Simply complete the search form using a valid email address. Verify your email address and then submit the search form. We will share the request with our members. Any provider who has a match for the results will reply to you directly. You will either receive an email or you will receive a letter. You will not receive any response from providers who do not hold a record that matches the search. No data will be retained of your search by the NAFPP or members who do not hold the plan you are enquiring about.

This service covers all plans provided by members of the NAFPP, and therefore nearly all providers in the market. You can see the list in the Our Members section of the website. The FCA website has a register of all companies authorised to provide pre-paid funeral plans.re protected against failure by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Start your search here: https://nafpp.org/find-my-plan

How It Works - Funeral Expenses Payment

You could get a Funeral Expenses Payment (also called a Funeral Payment) if you get certain benefits and need help to pay for a funeral you’re arranging.

If you receive money from the deceased’s estate

Your Funeral Expenses Payment will be deducted from any money you get from the deceased’s estate.

The estate includes any money or property they had but not a house or personal things left to a widow, widower or surviving civil partner.

What you’ll get

Funeral Expenses Payment can help pay for some of the costs of the following:

Burial fees for a particular plot
Cremation fees, including the cost of the doctor’s certificate
Travel to arrange or go to the funeral
The cost of moving the body within the UK, if it’s being moved more than 50 miles
Death certificates or other documents

You can also get up to £1,000 for any other funeral expenses, such as funeral director’s
fees, flowers or the coffin.

The payment will not usually cover all of the costs of the funeral.

How much you get depends on your circumstances. This includes any other money that’s available to cover the costs, for example from an insurance policy or the deceased person’s estate.

Check the claim form notes for full details of what Funeral Expenses Payment covers. If the deceased had a pre-paid funeral plan, you can only get up to £120 to help pay for items not covered by their plan.

How the money is paid

Funeral Expenses Payment is paid into your bank, building society or credit union account if you’ve already paid for the funeral.

The money will be paid directly to the organiser of the funeral (for example, the funeral director) if you have not paid yet.

More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/funeral-payments.

How It Works - Bereavement Support Payment

You may be able to get Bereavement Support Payment if your partner has died. It has replaced the following benefits:

Widowed Parent’s Allowance - if you already get this, your payments will continue until you’re no longer eligible
Bereavement Allowance (previously Widow’s Pension)
Bereavement Payment

Bereavement Support Payment is not means-tested. This means what you earn or how much you have in savings will not affect what you get.

When your partner died, you must have been:

under State Pension age
living in the UK or a country that pays bereavement benefits
married to your partner, in a civil partnership with them, or living with them as if you were married

Your partner must have either:

paid a certain amount of Class 1 or Class 2 National Insurance contributions in any one tax year since 6 April 1975
died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work

You can still make a claim if you’re not sure whether your partner paid enough National Insurance contributions. The Bereavement Service will let you know.

You cannot claim Bereavement Support Payment if you’re in prison.

When you need to make your claim

You usually need to make a claim within 21 months of your partner’s death. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment.