Final expense costs, in plain English
Know what it costs before your family has to.
The median funeral with a viewing and burial costs $8,300, according to the latest national study, and Social Security still pays just $255 toward it. Our free cost guide shows the gap, what fills it, and how to price your own plan.
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Get the free Final Expense Cost Guide
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- What a funeral costs, line by line, and what the median leaves out
- Your rights under the FTC Funeral Rule when you shop
- A worksheet to add up your own plan
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How it works
Three steps, no pressure
Read, plan on paper, and ask questions when you're ready. Every step is free.
- 1
Read the cost guide
Start with what a funeral costs and what the advertised price leaves out, with a link to the source behind every number.
- 2
Get the free guide
Tell us where to send the Final Expense Cost Guide. It opens on the next page, with a worksheet you can print.
- 3
Ask us anything
Call, email or ask for a call-back. Our team explains costs and how final expense coverage works, on your schedule.
Cost guides
The questions people ask first
Each guide answers in its first paragraph and lists its sources at the end.
Numbers that matter, with sources
What a funeral costs, and what helps pay for it
Median cost of an adult funeral with a viewing and burial in the latest national study, before cemetery costs.
Source: NFDAMedian cost of a funeral with a viewing and cremation in the latest national study, including the container and urn.
Source: NFDASocial Security's one-time death payment to a surviving spouse or eligible child.
Source: SSA.govShare of Americans projected to choose cremation in 2025, against 31.6% for burial.
Source: NFDAAsk the funeral home for
- The General Price ListItemized prices for every good and service, yours to keep.
- The Casket Price ListBefore you see any caskets, with every model's price.
- The Outer Burial Container listVault and grave liner prices, if the cemetery needs one.
- A written statementEverything you chose, with the total, before you pay.
Required by the FTC Funeral Rule, 16 CFR Part 453.
Your rights when you shop
Ask for the price list before you choose anything
Under the FTC Funeral Rule, a funeral home has to give you an itemized General Price List when you ask about arrangements in person, and quote prices by phone if you call. You can buy only the goods and services you want, apart from a basic services fee and anything the law requires.
A casket or urn bought somewhere else can't be refused or charged a handling fee. Our guide lists the questions to ask, and the worksheet turns the price list into one number.
Common questions
Final expense questions, answered briefly
How much does a funeral cost?
The national median cost of an adult funeral with a viewing and burial is $8,300, according to the latest study by the National Funeral Directors Association. A funeral with a viewing and cremation came to $6,280. Neither figure includes a cemetery plot, opening the grave, a headstone, flowers or an obituary, so most families pay more.
Does Social Security pay for a funeral?
Not much. Social Security pays a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment to a surviving spouse, or, if there is no spouse, to a child who gets benefits on the worker's record. You apply by phone or at an office within two years of the death. Survivors may also qualify for monthly benefits, which are separate.
What is final expense insurance?
Final expense insurance is a small whole life policy meant to cover a funeral and the bills that come with it. Coverage amounts are usually modest, the premium is set when you buy, and the policy does not expire as long as premiums are paid. Our guide explains how it differs from term coverage and a prepaid funeral plan.
What's in the free Final Expense Cost Guide?
The funeral cost figures and what they leave out, what Social Security pays and who gets it, your rights under the FTC Funeral Rule when you shop, the ways families pay, the questions to ask, and a worksheet to price your own plan. It's a PDF you can print, and every number lists its public source.
Put your own numbers on paper
Funeral costs, what Social Security pays, your rights when you shop and a worksheet, in one PDF you can print.