Funeral assistance programs for low-income families

Federal programs

• Social Security $255 lump-sum death payment. Paid to a surviving spouse who lived with the deceased, or to a child entitled to benefits. File on SSA Form SSA-8 within two years of death.
• FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance. Up to $9,000 reimbursement per eligible deceased individual for funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020 if death is COVID-attributed on the death certificate. Apply at fema.gov/disaster/coronavirus.
• VA Burial Allowance. $948 base for non-service-connected death of a veteran ($2,000+ for service-connected). File on VA Form 21P-530EZ. Spouses of veterans are not eligible.
• Medicaid burial fund exemption. Medicaid recipients may set aside up to $1,500 in a designated burial fund without affecting eligibility (state-specific rules apply).

State and county indigent burial programs

Every U.S. state operates an indigent burial fund through county social services or the public administrator. Programs vary widely. Typical caps:

• California: $750-$1,500 per disposition (county-administered).
• New York: up to $900 (NYC Department of Social Services).
• Texas: $750 cap (county-by-county).
• Florida: $1,000-$2,000 cap (varies by county).
• Pennsylvania: $750-$1,500 (county-by-county).
• Most other states: $400-$1,200 cap.

Eligibility is generally income-tested; the deceased's estate must lack the means to pay. Apply through the county social services office or public administrator within state-specific time limits (typically 30-180 days).

Nonprofit and religious assistance

• Salvation Army Funeral Assistance. Limited grants for residents of metro areas where the local Salvation Army runs a fund. Typical $200-$1,000.
• Catholic Charities Funeral Aid. Available in many dioceses; varies by parish.
• Children's Burial Assistance. Several nonprofits including Final Farewell, Tears Foundation, and Helping Hands cover costs for child deaths.
• Local churches and synagogues. Most denominations operate small discretionary funds for member families.

What to do when nothing covers it

When no assistance program covers the cost and the family genuinely cannot pay, the legal path is to abandon claim to the body. The deceased becomes the responsibility of the county coroner or medical examiner, who arranges a county-funded direct cremation or pauper's burial. The cremated remains are typically held for 1-3 years awaiting family claim before final disposition.

This is a hard decision but it is a real legal option. Counties cannot pursue the family for funeral costs in this scenario.

Pricing source disclosure

Every dollar amount on Cheap Funeral is sourced from each funeral home's published General Price List (GPL) under the FTC Funeral Rule (16 CFR Part 453). The Rule requires every U.S. funeral home to provide an itemized GPL on request — by phone, in person, or in many cases online. Where a home has not published a GPL we mark the listing accordingly rather than estimate.

National benchmarks throughout this article are drawn from the National Funeral Directors Association 2023 Member General Price List Study (NFDA, July 2023), which reports the median U.S. cost of a funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300 and the median direct cremation at $2,495.