Costs of Basic Funeral Services in Scotland rise 2.4% to £3,481
The average cost of a basic funeral has leapt by £140 in the space of a year across the UK, a new report has found.
Across the UK, the typical cost is now £3,702, marking a 3.9% increase compared with 2014, when the average cost was £3,562, Royal London said.
A basic funeral would include a coffin, a hearse and a simple, no-frills service but it would not include expenses such as flowers, venue hire and limousine hire.
Cremation costs have increased at a faster rate than burials since 2014, the pension and investment company said. The average cremation cost has increased by 4.2% to £3,294, while the typical burial cost has increased by 3.7% to reach £4,110.
Funeral costs across the country can vary by more than £4,000, the report said, ranging from £2,976 for a cremation in Greenock in Scotland to £7,216 for a burial in Beckenham in Kent.
The report found that funeral costs in Scotland have increased by 2.4% to £3,481, in Wales they have increased particularly strongly over the last year, by 5.2%, while those in Northern Ireland have seen a 1.9% increase. A survey of 2,000 people for the report found that one in seven people (13%) struggle to pay for a funeral and the typical debt left for those who find it hard to cover the costs is £1,318.
Royal London's research also found that when it comes to their own funeral, more than one in three (36%) people would prefer their families to spend as little as possible. Just 3% of people surveyed said they wanted a good send off with all the frills''.
Simon Cox, a funeral cost expert at Royal London, said: Our study shows people are striving to meet funeral price hikes, which they have little control over.
Given the stressful situation, shopping around for a funeral is often not an option.''
The report used various sources, including two consumer surveys and data from the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management and website yourfuneralchoice.com.