How much does Funeral Expenses Payment pay?

It pays necessary burial or cremation costs, such as the plot, cremation fees and transport over 80km, plus up to £1,000 for other expenses like the funeral director's fees, flowers or the coffin (Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 2005, reg.9). If a pre-paid funeral plan already covered some items, the £1,000 falls to £120.

How long do I have to claim Funeral Expenses Payment?

Six months from the date of the funeral, GOV.UK says, even if you are still waiting for a decision on a qualifying benefit. You can also claim before the funeral takes place, as long as you have an invoice or a signed contract from the funeral director, rather than only an estimate of the cost.

Will Funeral Expenses Payment be taken back from the estate?

Yes, but only from money that later comes to you from the estate; the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not chase you for repayment otherwise. GOV.UK says your payment is deducted from any money you get from the estate, though not from a house or personal belongings left to a widow, widower or surviving civil partner.

What if the person had a pre-paid funeral plan?

You can only get up to £120 for items a pre-paid plan did not already cover, instead of the usual £1,000, under regulation 9(10) of the funeral payment regulations. The amount already paid into the plan is deducted too, so the payment helps most with costs nobody had already arranged or paid for.

What happens in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

In Scotland, Funeral Support Payment replaces it entirely, run by Social Security Scotland rather than the DWP; you cannot get both, and claiming one rules out the other. In Northern Ireland, Funeral Expenses Payment works the same way as in England and Wales, with the same qualifying benefits and the same £1,000 and £120 caps.

Funeral Expenses Payment: who qualifies, what it covers, and how to claim it

Q: Am I eligible for Funeral Expenses Payment?

You or your partner must get a qualifying benefit, such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or income-related Employment and Support Allowance, and you must be accepting responsibility for the funeral. GOV.UK says a partner is first in line, then, if there is no partner, an immediate family member if it is reasonable for them to take it on.

Funeral Expenses Payment is a one-off Social Fund payment, not a loan, and it exists specifically for someone who is already on a low income and has to arrange a funeral. It covers who qualifies, what it pays, the deadlines, and what happens to it once the estate is dealt with.

Am I eligible for Funeral Expenses Payment?

You or your partner must already get a qualifying benefit, and you must be the person accepting responsibility for the funeral. GOV.UK lists Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and income-related Employment and Support Allowance among the qualifying benefits, and says you can still claim while waiting to hear about one of them (GOV.UK, Get help with funeral costs (Funeral Expenses Payment), checked 1 November 2026).

The regulations put responsibility in a strict order (Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 2005, reg.7(8), checked 15 September 2026):

your late partner’s own partner first
then, for a child, whoever was responsible for them
then, if there is no partner, an immediate family member for whom it is reasonable to accept responsibility
and only after that, a more distant relative or close friend

The funeral itself must take place in the UK, except for the specific groups paragraph (10) sets out, who can claim for a funeral held in the EEA or Switzerland (reg.7(9) and (10)).

If a closer relative than you had contact with the deceased, and neither they nor their partner is on a qualifying benefit, you may lose entitlement under the close-relative comparison test, unless that relative is under 18, a student, in hospital or prison, in a care home, or living abroad (reg.8(6)-(8)).

What Funeral Expenses Payment pays

Funeral Expenses Payment covers necessary burial or cremation costs: the plot or cremation fees, the required medical certificate, transport of the body over 80km, and one return journey to arrange or attend the funeral. It also pays up to £1,000 for any other expenses (Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 2005, reg.9(3), checked 15 September 2026).

GOV.UK gives the same £1,000 figure in plain terms, for things like funeral director’s fees, flowers or the coffin (GOV.UK, Get help with funeral costs (Funeral Expenses Payment), checked 1 November 2026). Where a device such as a pacemaker needs removing before cremation, that fee is covered too, capped at £20 if it is not done by a registered medical practitioner.

The 6-month time limit

You must apply within 6 months of the funeral taking place, GOV.UK says, even if you are still waiting for a decision on the qualifying benefit itself. Claims are not limited to after the event: you can also apply before the funeral, provided you already have an invoice or a signed contract rather than only an estimate.

What gets deducted from the payment

Some money is deducted before the payment is made, not afterwards. The regulations take off four kinds of money you may already have towards the funeral before working out what Funeral Expenses Payment adds on top (reg.10(1), checked 15 September 2026):

the deceased’s assets you can already reach without probate
any lump sum due to you from an insurance policy
any lump sum due to you from a workplace pension or a burial club
any sum still payable under a pre-paid funeral plan

Unclaimed arrears (money owed but not yet paid) of certain benefits owed to the deceased, including State Pension, Attendance Allowance and Bereavement Support Payment, are not counted as an asset for this deduction, even though other estate cash is (reg.10(1A)). Our Bereavement Support Payment page covers that separate benefit, which a surviving spouse or partner under State Pension age may also be able to claim.

Getting money back from the estate

Funeral Expenses Payment is not chased as a debt; instead, it is deducted from money you later receive from the estate. GOV.UK says your payment will be deducted from any money you get from the estate, though not from a house or personal things left to a widow, widower or surviving civil partner (GOV.UK, Get help with funeral costs (Funeral Expenses Payment), checked 1 November 2026).

This is a narrower mechanism than a council’s power to recover a public health funeral’s cost directly from the estate as a debt, which our funeral costs page covers. Our estate debts page and paying the bills page cover where funeral costs rank against an estate’s other bills.

How to claim

You can claim by phone or by post; the postal form, SF200, now comes as separate adult and child versions (GOV.UK, Funeral Expenses Payment claim form, checked 1 November 2026). The Bereavement Service helpline, 0800 151 2012, can also take a claim or send you the paper form if you would rather fill one in by hand.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Funeral Support Payment replaces Funeral Expenses Payment entirely in Scotland, run by Social Security Scotland rather than the DWP; you cannot claim both, and Scottish residents should apply for the Scottish scheme instead (mygov.scot, Funeral Support Payment and GOV.UK, Get help with funeral costs (Funeral Expenses Payment), checked 1 November 2026). Northern Ireland uses the same scheme, benefits and caps as England and Wales, administered through the Northern Ireland Social Fund.

Wales uses the same GB Funeral Expenses Payment scheme as England, with no separate Welsh version. Northern Ireland also has a separate, one-off Child Funeral Fund for a child’s funeral, which is not available if any other government funeral or bereavement payment has already been claimed (nidirect, Funeral Expenses Payments, checked 1 November 2026).

Funeral Expenses Payment