Dead poor

For families who need a state grant to bury loved ones, humiliation is compounded by penny-pinching and red tape

- GILLIAN BOYES

Farewelling a loved one is tough at the best of times. But during level 4 Covid lockdowns, farewells were made immeasurably tougher when funerals for an estimated 5000 New Zealanders were taken away from their loved ones.

The profound grief, uncertainty and, at times, outrage this caused has been captured brilliantly in Sarah Catherall's “Mourning from afar" article in this issue. But there's another roughly 5000 Kiwi families who each year also miss out or have severely restricted farewell choices. This is the average number who receive a Work and Income Funeral Grant.

This hardship grant is available to very low-income New Zealanders. It is asset tested and granted on behalf of the deceased. Excluding consumer price index adjustments, it has not been increased since 2003. This has led to a significant shortfall between the costs the grant was designed to cover and what it actually pays for.

The maximum payable amount for the grant is $2280.72. In 2021, this covered only 29% of the cost of a simple funeral and burial and 37% of the cost of simple cremations.