Funeral Expenses
Funeral Expenses is a one-off financial contribution.
Death related to service or Qualifying Service
You can apply for funeral costs for a veteran if:
- they had qualifying operational service, or
- their death was service-related.
Death not related to service or Qualifying Service
We may help with funeral costs of a veteran if you're eligible for at least one of these:
Surviving Spouse or Partner Pension
Weekly Compensation for Family
The veteran must also have been getting a specific payment from us at the time of their death.
They must have been getting at least one of these:
NZ Superannuation(external link)
Supported Living Payment from Work and Income(external link)
Costs of funeral, burial and cremation
Standard costs we can help with are for funeral, burial and cremation.
Costs of transporting body
We may help with costs of taking the body to the place of interment if death was from Qualifying Service, and in a:
- public hospital, or
- private hospital.
The amount we can cover may depend on the total distance travelled for this.
If you get other support
If another government agency, such as ACC, NZDF or Work and Income has made a funeral grant, you can still apply to us. We’ll take into account their grant in deciding what to pay.
Payment rates
- Complete the Funeral Expenses application form.
- Send the application form and any supporting information to us.
Download the Funeral Expenses application form [PDF, 914 KB]
After you apply we'll:
- contact you to confirm we've received your application
- start the decision-making process
- inform you in writing once a decision has been made.
If we need more information, we'll get in touch with you.
Contact us for more information
We strive to be transparent. If you want to know how this entitlement is administered you can read the internal policy.
