Social Security pays a one time death payment of $255. Only a surviving spouse, or certain children, can get it. The median funeral with a viewing and burial costs about $8,300, so most of the bill falls on the family.
Many people think Social Security will pay for their funeral. It will not. The lump sum death payment is $255, and it has been that amount for decades.
Not everyone can get it. A spouse who lived with the person can. If there is no spouse, some children can, such as children 17 and under or children whose disability started before 21.
Funerals cost far more. The National Funeral Directors Association found the median cost of a funeral with a viewing and burial was $8,300. With cremation it was $6,280. Those numbers do not include a cemetery plot or a headstone.
That leaves a gap of thousands of dollars. Families cover it with savings, credit cards, a GoFundMe, or a small life insurance policy made for this, called final expense or burial insurance.
Final expense policies are usually $5,000 to $25,000. They are made for people 50 to 85, and many do not need a medical exam. You pay the same price each month for life.
- Social Security death payment: $255, one time
- Median funeral with burial: about $8,300
- Median funeral with cremation: about $6,280
- Final expense coverage: often $5,000 to $25,000