How much is too much to pay for farewelling a loved one? Do families feel pressured to spend more on a funeral than they can afford? Can the cost of a funeral impoverish relatives?
How many people save for their funerals or take out funeral insurance?These are some of the questions two academics hope to answer in a research project.
Dr Cyril Schafer, a social anthropology lecturer at the University of Otago, is working with University of Canterbury sociologist Dr Ruth McManus to investigate the cost of funerals and their financial impact on those left behind.
An anonymous online questionnaire has been set up at www.NZdeathresearchcentre.org.nz to gather facts and opinions.
That data would be collated and followed up by group discussions and individual interviews with those who wanted to participate more fully, Dr Schafer said.
"Dying . . . and the funeral ritual are quite an important part of life Yet there is not very much known about how much people are able or prepared to pay."
With traditional funerals costing anywhere from $4000 to $20,000, funerals could be difficult for families who were already in financial difficulty or who had little or no savings, he said.
Dr Schafer lectures a death and dying paper at Otago and completed his doctorate thesis into the funeral traditions of different ethnic groups in New Zealand and overseas.
Funerals were a public statement in all cultures, he said.
"For some [families], it is important other people know you have made an effort. . .
"It will be interesting to find out what level of debt people feel comfortable with when arranging a funeral.
"Will they try and cut costs, or with they continue with their plans because of the expectations of relatives and society?"
New Zealand funeral costs paled into comparison with those in Ghana, which could reach $NZ40,000, he said.
Families there bought extremely elaborate and highly decorated coffins and hosted huge funerals.
A donation table was set up and those attending the funeral were expected to give substantial cash donations, with the amount each person had donated announced over a loud speaker.
Dr Schafer's research in Auckland showed Pacific Island families often opted for top-of-the-range coffins and more expensive funerals, but there was also an expectation relatives and friends would contribute to the cost.
The research has been funded with a $19,500 grant from the Building Research Capacity in Social Sciences network.
Shop around before you need to - that is the advice from Dunedin funeral director Fiona Harvey.
Funeral costs varied widely and funeral directors would happily provide assistance and estimates of their costs, she said.
"A number of people do call before a death occurs and get a price comparison, and we encourage them to do that."
It was better, if possible, to obtain estimates in advance, before the emotional period after a person died, she said.
Ms Harvey, of Dignity Funeral Services Ltd and president of the Otago-Southland Funeral Directors Association, said it was difficult to estimate average Otago funeral costs because each funeral was different.
She estimated a typical service plus cremation would be between $4500 and $6000 and a typical service with burial between $6500 and $10,000.
Cost was definitely an issue for some families, she said, but there were many ways costs could be reduced.
That could include asking friends or relatives to provide service sheets or catering, choosing a less expensive casket and choosing cremation instead of burial.
Another option for families was to contribute to a funeral savings plan or to take out funeral insurance.
Lyndon Hope, of Otago's largest funeral directors Hope and Sons, said many people thought about their funerals in advance.
"We have probably 1000 names on file of people who have come in to see us and discussed funeral arrangements."
Most did not prepay their funerals.
The type of casket selected could push expenses to $15,000 or more, Mr Hope said.
His company's caskets ranged from $670 for a plain particle board version to $8000 for an imported solid timber coffin with an elaborate lining "like you see on American television shows".
Most people chose caskets in the $2000 to $3000 range, he said.
The numbers
Funeral directors' fees: $750-$3000.
Embalming (optional): $300-$500.
Casket: $600-$8000+.
Service and hymn cards: $100-$300.
Flowers: $100-$300.
Catering: $350-$1000+ Donation to minister or celebrant: $75-$125.
Burial, including plot: $1500-$3150.
Cremation: $200-$550.
Plaque/headstone: $500-$3000+.
Newspaper notices: $100-$400+.
Total: $2700-$19,000+.
Average (cremation): $4000-$6000.
Average (burial): $6500-$10,000.
Financial assistance: Some funeral directors allow families to pay their bill in installments, but this must be agreed at the time the funeral is organised.
An ACC grant of up to $5101.38 is available to the family of a person who dies in an accident.
ACC will also pay one-off survivor's grants to the deceased's partner, children and other dependants.
A Winz funeral assistance grant of up to $1760.57 is available to the family of a deceased person of limited income and assets.
Families can only receive one grant.
While funeral services are a traditional way of farewelling loved ones, there is no legal requirement to hold a public or even a private service.
However, New Zealand legislation requires bodies to be buried or cremated in a casket.
Caskets are available in a wide range of materials, from particle board and pine, to solid timber, many of them made in New Zealand.
Funeral directors say one of the most popular choices is particle board with a timber veneer, which is lighter and cheaper than solid timber.
There are many New Zealand and overseas companies which specialise in individualised hand-painted coffins.
For those with more unusual tastes, surfing the Internet reveals a wide variety of alternatives which can be imported by families, or by funeral directors if they are given sufficient advance warning.
Perhaps the ultimate funeral statement was made by the Auckland artist who chose to be buried wrapped in a cloak and placed inside a perspex box.
However, casket choices for Otago people are more limited.
For safety reasons, the Dunedin City Council and most other local authorities do not allow bodies to be buried or cremated in cardboard coffins.
Funeral director Lyndon Hope, of Hope and Sons, said his company trialled cardboard and wicker caskets but found them "flimsy" and unpopular.
Perhaps the most obvious resting place for a body is a cemetery.
In Otago, it is not always possible to be buried in your cemetery of choice as many are full and no new plots are being sold, although many cemeteries can accommodate the interment of a second body in a family plot.
The DCC, which administers 19 cemeteries, is not selling new plots in the East Taieri, West Taieri, Green Island, Northern, Southern or Andersons Bay cemeteries.
Other cemeteries are filling fast and a new cemetery in Blackhead Rd, near Corstorphine, is due to open in three to four years.
Other cemeteries without room for new plots include Ranfurly, Ida Valley, Nevis, Macraes and Goodwood.
An increasingly popular option for New Zealanders is natural burials, where bodies are not embalmed and are buried in caskets made of natural materials.
Compost is placed on top of the casket and native trees planted above to return the body's nutrients to the ecosystem rapidly and without pollution.
Over time, the cemetery evolves into native bush intersected by walkways.
There are no headstones, but a building is erected in which the names of those buried nearby are recorded.
The only certified natural burial cemetery in New Zealand is in Wellington.
There are no plans for a natural burial area at Dunedin's Blackhead Rd cemetery, but cemeteries are being designed for Wanganui, Banks Peninsula and Nelson.
For those wishing to cremate their loved ones, there are crematoria in Dunedin, Invercargill and Alexandra.
About 200 South Islanders a year pledge to donate their body to the University of Otago Medical School's Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology to be studied, explored and dissected by medical, dental, physiotherapy, physical education and science students.
Bodies must be intact, so people donating their bodies to science cannot donate their organs as well, with the exception of corneas.
The department tries to accept all bequeathed bodies but reserves the right to decline them in certain circumstances, for example if a post-mortem has been performed.
Bodies are usually studied for 18 months or longer before being disposed of.
This occurs by cremating them at the Dunedin crematorium and scattering the ashes at the Andersons Bay cemetery.
Families are not informed when bodies are cremated, but an annual thanksgiving ceremony is held for the families of those whose bodies have been received.
- Anyone wishing to find out more can contact the anatomy department on 0800-580-500 or by emailing anatomy@otago.ac.nz
