Change to CPP death benefit panned as insufficient to cover funeral costs
OTTAWA — A change to the Canada Pension Plan to provide a flat-rate death benefit to help low-income families cover funeral costs falls short of what funeral homes say is needed to cover the cost of a final farewell.
After meetings this week, federal and provincial finance ministers set the death benefit at a flat $2,500, regardless of how long or how much someone had paid into CPP.
Leading up to the meeting, the Funeral Services Association of Canada lobbied governments to raise the value to $3,580 — back to what it was in 1997 before finance ministers of the day imposed a sliding scale benefit based on an individual’s contributions to the CPP, capped at a maximum benefit of $2,500.
The association also asked that the benefit be tied to inflation so its value would increase with the cost of living.