Burial costs around the country have risen as councils adopt their increased fees for the new financial year.

However, the hikes are rarely uniform and reinforce a “postcode lottery of death,” according to those in the funeral industry.

The price of burial has risen almost 18 percent in Tasman to $2650, and while the cost has increased by a similar 20 percent in neighbouring Nelson, residents of the city have to pay $4283 – almost 62 percent more.

Both costs are inclusive of the price of the burial plot and the price of interment for the 2023/24 financial year, as well as the ongoing maintenance of the cemeteries.

Funeral Directors Association chief executive Gillian Boyes said that the latest cost-of-living increases to council cemetery prices are adding to the financial burden being felt by many, and has created “a postcode lottery on death” around the country.

“Burial and cremation costs are one of the biggest elements of a funeral bill so when those jump each year, funerals suddenly seem a lot more expensive.”

She added that high prices can take burial off the table as an option for low-income families.

“Yet we know, for many of our families, burial is a preferred option for cultural or religious reasons.”

Nelson-Tasman’s Simplicity Funerals manager Anna Loach said families were “very conscious” of their funeral budget and to plan within their means they sometimes scaled back by doing their own catering, or using their own vehicle to transport someone to the cemetery or crematorium, for example.

“These options have always been there, but families may explore the options more than they used to.”

Alastair Hebberd, owner of Shone and Shirley, another regional funeral director, said 42 percent of their funeral accounts were council fees, whereas that was 28 percent back in 2016.

“It’s putting the pressure on funeral homes to try and keep costs as low as possible so that we’re not putting families into financial hardship,” he said.

“But the interest rates on the business are still going up, the rates are going up, everything’s still going up and we’ve still got to pay for that.

“As funeral accounts get bigger, it’s not necessarily the funeral home that’s taking in all that money.”

Hebberd often suggested families buy burial plots in advance to try and save some money.

“Go and buy the plot separately, then you own the plot. Next year, if it’s going to increase, you’re not going to have any fees. I can guarantee that the fees on the cemetery are not going to go backwards.”

The combined plot and interment cost for a Nelson burial in the 2020/21 financial year was $2605 which has since climbed 64.4 percent to this financial year’s $4283.

The cost of a burial plot alone in Tasman in 2021 was $1266 but has since increased 38 percent to $1750 for this year.

Only about 10 percent of Shone and Shirley clients paid in advance for either their funeral costs or their burial plots.

Loach also said she had seen an increase in people pre-paying for their funeral, however, she noted this was not always successful at keeping costs down, due to third-party costs being out of the hands of the funeral director.

Tasman has twelve active cemeteries, like the one in Richmond, which can only hold one interment due to a higher water table. Photo: Waimea Weekly. [via LDR single use only]Tasman has twelve active cemeteries, like the one in Richmond, which can only hold one interment due to a higher water table. Photo: Waimea Weekly
“Having said that, it certainly does give people peace of mind to know that they have everything sorted and written down in the event of their death.”

As burial costs climb, Hebberd said he had not personally seen anyone change their mind to cremation once they learned the cost of burial.

“But I can imagine, for some people, it might happen.”

The cost of an ash plot and the interment of ashes comes to just $1092 in Nelson, which excludes the cost of cremation. In Tasman, the cost is $800.

About 75 percent of Simplicity Funerals’ clients in Nelson chose cremation over burial, but Loach said she had not seen any shifting trends as costs rose.

“If a family are set on having a burial as opposed to a cremation, then that is the way they would go anyway.”

This was mirrored by Shone and Shirley’s clients, about 80 percent of whom opt for cremation.

However, Hebberd also could not confirm that cost was a significant factor in the prevalence of cremation and said some people also had sentimental and environmental reasons for preferring cremation, rather than just financial concerns.

He did, however, note the rate of burial increases, the further south you went down the South Island.

And while burial plots in Nelson are more expensive than those in Tasman, Nelson’s can hold two interments, while Tasman’s only hold one, due to Tasman having a higher water table.

When planning a burial in Tasman’s Richmond Cemetery, Loach said she would also discuss with her clients the possibility of also purchasing an adjacent burial plot for a spouse should the couple wish to be interred together.

“This can add significant additional unexpected costs.”

The cost of a single burial plot and two interments in Nelson would be $5583, but the cost of two burial plots and interments in Tasman would be $5300, still below Nelson.

For those thinking of taking advantage of the cost difference and heading to the neighbouring region, there is bad news however. The interment of residents in a cemetery outside their home region incurs an additional fee of $1750 in Tasman, and $2080 in Nelson.

This means a Nelsonian who wants to get buried in Tasman would be looking at a cost of $4400, higher than the $4283-cost for a single burial in Nelson.

Hebberd added this additional fee can affect residents of Hill Street North, which is home to a Summerset retirement village, who tend to consider themselves Richmond residents due to the area being more integrated into Tasman’s Richmond than Nelson.

Burial plots in Nelson, like those in Marsden Cemetery, can hold two interments, but the price of burial still edges out over Tasman’s cost. Photo: Max Frethey/Nelson Weekly. [via LDR single use only]Burial plots in Nelson, like those in Marsden Cemetery, can hold two interments, but the price of burial still edges out over Tasman’s cost. Photo: Max Frethey / Nelson Weekly
Nelson also has a full-time sexton who maintains the city’s main cemetery in Marsden Valley. Tasman does not because the region has 12 active cemeteries.

Nelson City Council’s group manager of community services Andrew White noted that Nelson’s burial fees were comparable to other similarly sized cities, like Whangārei and Napier, but added that any decision to increase fees was not taken lightly.

“Nelson City Council operates a cost-recovery model of 40 percent of the total cost for burials,” he said.

“The increase council has made to the cost-recovery portion this year is to make sure the amount paid by the user is in line with council’s cost recovery model and ratepayers are not subsidising the service for more than the agreed amount.”

White added that if a joint regional cemetery with Tasman progressed, it was anticipated there would be an alignment of fees between the two councils over time.

Some funeral support for low-income families is available through Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ), but Boyes said it was a “paltry” $2445.37 when compared to the typical cost of a funeral, which could be upwards of $10,000.

The Funeral Directors Association is calling for a substantial increase to the WINZ funeral grant, noting the larger but more restrictive $7491.95 grant offered by the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).

“The sad reality is that at a time when a very low-income family is hurting and grieving and just wants to remember their loved one, they are going to be faced with the added pain of a big bill. The welfare safety net has got a whopping great hole in it when it comes to helping families with the end of life.”

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