How the cost of living is increasing the cost of dying
The Post - 3 June 2025
Despite its name, the cost of living crisis doesn’t stop at the grave.
The cost of dying is becoming increasingly unaffordable as the price tag of a funeral rises to match inflation.
The Wellington City Council is increasing more than 100 of its cemetery fees in line with inflation as part of its annual plan.
But funeral industry experts say you can cut back costs - or, as one man suggests, do things at a fraction of the price if the funeral industry is bypassed altogether.
The average cost of a funeral in New Zealand is $10,000, but it varies depending on the type of service - with Westpac estimating the range to be anywhere from $5,000 up to $20,000 or more in 2023.
From the wages to the casket to the embalming fluid, Funeral Directors Association chief executive Gillian Boyes said every element of a funeral had gone up.
The city council increases mean a burial plot at Seaforth Memorial Gardens had the biggest increase of $157, while plaques rose by $50 and wooden oblong urns increased $40.
The council has also allocated $1.5 million out of its budget for land acquisition and $5.4m for cemetery development as Karori Cemetery has effectively reached its capacity and Mākara Cemetery will also be full from 2038.
Boyes said the $2616.12 offered in the government’s WINZ funeral grant was now “well out of step” with the most basic funeral package of a cremation and a simple service. Read more.....