Consumer Watchdog: Death leaves bigger burden

Inga Tuigamala says families should ask for a discount if the price of burial is too high. Photo / Janna Dixon

A grave situation has been uncovered - along with the cost of living, the cost of death is also on the increase.

Councils around the country are looking to hike burial fees, in some cases by 30 per cent, to cope with rising costs.

But those preparing for the pearly gates do have ways of controlling expenses.

The biggest price hike for a burial is in the Waikato District, with council cemeteries looking to charge $1300 from July - an increase of 30 per cent on the current $906.

The "interment fee" covers the physical act of preparing a grave. It's a cost on top of buying a burial plot, a fee which is also up 22 per cent from $1894 to $2421.

A Waikato District Council spokeswoman said in the past three years council had increased the fee from zero per cent user-pays to 80 per cent. Before this, all maintenance costs were funded through rates and contractor costs were not fully recovered.

Former rugby star turned funeral director Inga Tuigamala runs a funeral home in West Auckland and is seeing the impact tough times are having on bereaved families - more buy the funeral they need, rather than what they want.

Burials could be "uncomfortable" for families and "it doesn't help when cemeteries are hiking their prices up". Tuigamala advised families not to be afraid to ask for assistance or a discount if the cost was too much.

Prices are tipped to rise all over the country and in some cases they already have.

On Friday, the Queenstown Lakes District Council raised the price of a single burial to $850 from $750, and a double-depth burial from $800 to $950.

Council parks manager Gordon Bailey said the increase was to bring the price of a burial in line with the cost.

Although Queenstown cemeteries received council funding, burials were not subsidised by the ratepayer so it was a user-pays system.

The most expensive local-body plot is in Auckland's North Shore Memorial Park, where the cost of a single plot is proposed to rise to up to $5305. It now costs up to $5111.

And fees don't stop at buying a plot and having someone dig a grave. Anyone burying a loved one on the North Shore on a Saturday is in for a $455 fee from July - a $148 increase of 48 per cent for weekend work.

Auckland Council regional and specialist parks manager Mace Ward said the Auckland region faced some "real challenges" in terms of capacity and potential for cemeteries to expand. Parts of North Shore Memorial Park were already full and others were at 70 per cent capacity.

The Waikumete and Manukau cemeteries were also looking to expand.

The cost of maintaining a graveyard is also passed on to the bereaved. Wellington City Council is looking to hike these fees for the next financial year, proposing a $546 one-off fee for maintenance at their Makara Cemetery, a rise of 40 per cent from the current fee.

So, are there ways to minimise the costs of dying?

Davis Funeral Services managing director Craig Little said in cemeteries such as those on the North Shore, people paid more for the location, just like with property anywhere. "If you're going to be buried in Kaitaia you're going to pay less than in Auckland, just like with a house."

The people who didn't plan for their funerals left an expense on the family. "It's a funny thing that we don't [plan]. It's such a big part in everyone's lives when you do lose someone but we shy away from it because we don't like to discuss death."

He recommended people put plans in place while they were still living. "It takes a lot of the stress and strains away when you do [die]."