Social Security Act 2018

Assistance - Funeral grants

90: Funeral grant: general eligibility and definitions

You could also call this:

“Rules for getting help with funeral costs when someone dies”

You might be able to get a funeral grant from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) for someone who has died. To get this grant, the person who died needs to meet certain rules. These rules are explained in other parts of the law.

When talking about funeral grants, there are some special words you need to know:

An ‘assessable estate’ is what the person who died owned. This doesn’t include things that are hard to sell, costs of managing the estate, or some special items that don’t count.

A ‘child’ can be a baby who didn’t survive birth.

‘Non-assessable assets’ are things that don’t count when looking at what someone owned. These can be the main house where someone lived, household items, family vehicles, and some Māori land.

When figuring out if someone can get a funeral grant, MSD looks at how much money the person might have made in the year after the person died.

There are some limits on who can get a funeral grant, which are explained in another part of the law.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6783287.

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Part 2 Assistance
Funeral grants

90Funeral grant: general eligibility and definitions

  1. MSD may pay a funeral grant in respect of a deceased person if the person meets the criteria in section 91, 92, or 93.

  2. In this subpart, unless the context otherwise requires,—

    assessable estate means the estate of a deceased person, including a deceased child; but does not include—

    1. any asset that MSD considers is impracticable to realise; or
      1. any administration expenses; or
        1. any non-assessable assets, if section 91 or 93 applies

          child includes a still-born child as defined in section 4 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021

            non-assessable assets, in relation to a deceased person, a spouse or partner, or the parents or any other person who was liable in law to maintain a deceased child on the date of death, are—

            1. that person’s estate or interest, on the date of death of the deceased, in the person’s own principal place of residence, including any estate or interest in the land on which it is erected, and any other buildings or improvements on that land that are used mainly for the purposes of that person’s household; and
              1. chattels that the person owned or that were in the person’s possession under a hire purchase agreement, a conditional sale agreement, or an agreement for lease or hire, on the date of death of the deceased, and that are—
                1. furniture, appliances, tools, ornaments, or other articles used mainly for the purposes of the deceased’s household; or
                  1. motor vehicles, caravans, trailers, or boats used mainly for family purposes; and
                  2. any undivided beneficial interest in common in Māori land.

                  3. In sections 91 and 93, the annual income of any person is that person’s estimated income for the 52-week period commencing on the day following the date of death of the deceased in respect of whom the application is made.

                  4. This section is subject to section 94 (restrictions on payments).

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                  Notes
                  • Section 90(2) child: amended, on , by section 147 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021 (2021 No 57).