The nation’s massive pandemic rescue plan includes one kind of funding that gets less attention: a funeral assistance program, offering families of those who have died of COVID up to $9,000 to cover burial costs.
Part of the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan signed in March, the funeral expenses program extends much-needed help to families who may have gone into debt or lost wages in the pandemic. That said, there’s no income limit to apply.
Here’s more on who is eligible for the funeral help and how you can apply.
How does it work?
While the federal government has helped Americans cover funeral costs during disasters before, this initiative is set to become the largest of its kind.
It’s led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a government branch that handles disaster relief.
In a Nov. 1 statement, FEMA says it has provided over $1.2 billion in COVID funeral support for more than 196,000 people.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought overwhelming grief to many families,” FEMA says on its website. “At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters. We are dedicated to helping ease some of the financial stress and burden caused by the virus.”
Through the assistance program, survivors can apply for reimbursement for the purchase of a plot, burial, a headstone, clergy services, the transfer of remains, cremation or other services associated with a funeral.
Who qualifies for support?
To apply, you have to be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national or qualified alien who paid for funeral expenses after Jan. 20, 2020.
And those funeral expenses have to be for an individual whose death in the United States may have been caused by or was likely the result of COVID-19, according to FEMA’s website.
You can claim up to $9,000 for an individual’s funeral expenses, but if you’ve lost more than one member of your family, you can apply for as much as $35,000 in reimbursement.
But if you’ve already received any other type of assistance for funeral costs — such as a burial benefit associated with a life insurance policy — that will reduce or entirely offset what you’re entitled to under FEMA’s program.
And you’ll only receive what you paid. So if you opted for a lower-cost funeral, you may not get the full $9,000.
Burial costs belong to just one category of the many expenses that families are saddled with when a loved one dies — which is why one of the best ways of protecting the people you love is shopping around for life insurance policy that will provide peace of mind.
What do I have to do to get money?
FEMA has a dedicated toll-free hotline, along with a call center, to answer questions about the…
Read More: An obscure COVID stimulus benefit will give you up to $9,000 to help pay