An overview of the rise in funeral costs across the UK, and how these costs can be cut down according to funeral directors.
It won’t come as a surprise that funeral costs have risen in the last decade. Everything else has risen too: petrol costs, housing prices, the cost of our utility bills. But according to a 2020 SunLife report, funeral prices have risen by a huge 62% in the last decade - a vast difference in comparison.
How much have funeral costs risen by?
Over the last decade, funeral costs have risen by 62% - but other living expenses have not risen by anywhere close to this percentage. You can see some of the other percentage increases below:
- Weekly wages ↑ 22.6%
- Petrol ↑ 29.4%
- Housing ↑ 42.1%
- Annual electricity bill ↑ 50.4%
- Funeral prices ↑ 62%
Will funeral costs keep rising?
According to experts, yes - funeral costs may keep rising. If they continue at the same rate as they have since 2004, according to SunLife, the average cost of a funeral could be a huge £5,285 in five years’ time. Below, you can see their projections from 2020 until 2024.
But there is some good news: the rate funeral costs are rising seems to be slowing down slightly. The annual growth rate of funeral costs has gone down by 28% since 2018.
How can I try to keep funeral costs down?
Over 8 in 10 funeral directors believe that people spend more on a funeral than they need to. Here are a range of tips from funeral directors SunLife spoke to on cutting costs.
Put simply, there are many different ways to try to keep funeral costs down - from reducing send-off expenses to opting for lower cost funeral options (for example, direct cremation). You can see other ways to keep costs down on our (Need Link) funeral planning on a budget page.
How can I prepare for rising funeral costs?
One of the best ways to prepare for funeral costs is to create a payment plan. With Legacy of Lives, you can create a personalised funeral plan and receive quotes from funeral directors in less than 48 hours.