Work and Income help with travel to a funeral

Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-10-20 · Reviewed quarterly, when the underlying data is restated.

Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.

Work and Income does not list a separate funeral travel grant. Its bereavement page says you may be able to get help with the cost of travelling to a funeral or tangi if the person who died was your partner, child, grandchild, sibling, parent or grandparent, and that you may have to pay the money back (Work and Income: Bereavement, updated 24 July 2026). Which payment applies depends on whether you get a benefit.

Help with travel to a funeral or tangi from Work and Income is a repayable payment, not a grant. If you receive a main benefit, a pension, or Orphan's or Unsupported Child's Benefit, the page names an Advance Payment of Benefit. If you do not receive a benefit, it names a Recoverable Assistance Payment. Both are for an essential or emergency cost you cannot pay another way, both look at your and your partner's income and assets, and both have to be paid back. The relatives covered are a partner (if you were living together at the time of the death), a child, a grandchild or mokopuna, a sibling, a parent and a grandparent, including step, foster, half and whāngai relationships. Work and Income says the amount "depends on your situation", and nothing on the pages we read promises a payment. This is general information as at 20 October 2026; the rules are Work and Income's and can change.

Is there a funeral travel grant?

Not as far as we can find. Some summaries describe travel help as an asset-tested "Special Needs Grant". The Work and Income bereavement page we read does not name a Special Needs Grant for funeral travel. It names the two repayable payments above and links to their pages. If someone tells you a grant is available, ask Work and Income which payment it is and whether it must be repaid.

This matters because the money is a loan in practice. A grant is yours to keep. These payments are not.

The two payments side by side

	Advance Payment of Benefit	Recoverable Assistance Payment
For whom	People getting a main benefit, a pension (the page names NZ Super and Veteran's Pension) or Orphan's or Unsupported Child's Benefit	People who do not get a benefit from the Ministry of Social Development, who are NZ citizens or permanent residents, normally live in New Zealand and plan to stay
Repaid?	Yes: "you will have to pay the money back" (the page gives no repayment terms)	Yes: "You have to pay the money back"
Asset limit	Under $1,411.22 single; under $2,351.46 for a couple or sole parent	The same figures
Income limit	Weekly, before tax: single aged 18 or over under $1,010.41; couple under $1,467.61	Annual, before tax: single aged 18 or over under $52,541.32; couple under $76,315.72
How to ask	Phone 0800 559 009	Phone 0800 559 009
Page updated	29 July 2026	24 July 2026

Both pages list other limits for single people aged 16 to 17 and for sole parents. Your home and car do not count towards the asset limit; bank savings and a second property do. Sources: Advance Payment of Benefit and Recoverable Assistance Payment, read 20 October 2026.

One honest limit: both pages list "attendance at funerals and tangihanga" among the example costs, and the bereavement page ties the two payments to travel. Neither page says what counts as a travel cost or how much will be paid, so the amount and the cost items Work and Income will accept are a matter for the phone call.

What to do before you book

Phone first. The pages we read do not say whether Work and Income will repay a fare you have already paid, so ask before you buy tickets.
Say who died and how you are related. The list of relatives is specific.
Have your figures ready. Income, savings and, if you have a partner, theirs.
Ask what travel costs it will count. Fares, accommodation and petrol are not itemised on the pages we read.
Know how the money arrives. Approved payments are put on a payment card, and you have 7 days to spend it before it expires.

What the Funeral Grant does and does not do

The Funeral Grant is a different payment. It pays up to $2,697.43 towards the funeral itself, and it is not repaid if you meet the criteria (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). Its list of reasonable costs names the funeral director's fees, casket, death certificate, notices, hearse, burial or cremation fees, venue, food (including kai for a tangihanga), flowers, a celebrant or clergy and a slideshow. Mourners' travel is not on the list we read; moving the body to or from New Zealand is. See our Funeral Grant guide for who qualifies. Work and Income does not pay the grant if an ACC funeral grant is payable.

Other places to look

ACC. If the death followed a covered injury, ACC's funeral grant is up to $8,236.40 for funeral and memorial costs (ACC). We did not find ACC saying it pays relatives' travel; ask ACC. Our ACC funeral grant guide has the rest.
Iwi, marae and community groups. Community Law says Māori may be able to get a tangihanga grant from their iwi organisation or seek funding from Māori land trusts or organisations, and suggests contacting Te Puni Kōkiri or a local marae or Māori church about other support (Community Law). Ask whether they help with travel; the page does not say they do. See tangihanga.
Air fares. Air New Zealand sells a flat compassionate fare on domestic routes; details are in our bereavement flights guide.
Time off work. Bereavement leave is 3 days for a partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild or a partner's parent, and 1 day for others if your employer accepts a bereavement (Holidays Act 2003, ss 69 and 70). See bereavement leave.

If the payment is declined or does not cover the trip

You can ask Work and Income to review a decision: the Social Security Act 2018 gives three months from the notice, or longer for good reason (sections 391 and 392). Other options are to travel by the lowest-cost route, share a vehicle with whānau, or attend by video. FDANZ lists live-streaming at $200 to $500 as an optional extra a funeral director may offer (FDANZ: Financial matters); ask the director. For the wider picture of who pays for the funeral itself, see who pays for a funeral, funeral costs when the estate has no money and our funeral costs hub.

Momentum Life and this page

The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online quote, which is one option if you are thinking about your own cover. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited, takes New Zealanders aged 40 to 75 with no health questions and pays a fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 towards costs. In the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death within 90 days of the accident; for any other death the premiums for that person are refunded. Total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. Quick Life takes ages 18 to 65 with no health questions, but excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years. Neither is open over 75. Momentum Life Limited's A.M. Best rating is B (Fair), in the "Vulnerable" range; see its financial strength page. Saving the money yourself is another route.

QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy a Momentum policy; see how we are paid. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). General information, not advice. Back to the when someone dies hub.

If you are planning ahead for your own funeral costs

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Life cover: Conditions you already have aren't covered for the first 2 years (premiums refunded instead). Suicide isn't covered for the first 2 years, and a few conditions can be excluded permanently.

Funeral cover: Only accidental death is covered for the first 2 years. Total premiums can add up to more than the cover, and it may not meet the whole cost of a funeral.

Insurer: Momentum Life Limited. Financial strength rating B (Fair) from AM Best, affirmed 11 February 2026; B ratings sit in AM Best's 'vulnerable' range. The rating scale is available for inspection at every Momentum Life office in New Zealand. What this means

Already have cover? Keep it. New cover won't pay for a condition you already have in its first 2 years.

Opens Momentum Life's online application; its guidance only covers eligibility. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy. General information, not advice.

Adviser's view

Work and Income does not pay a funeral travel grant. What it names for travel to a funeral or tangi is a repayable payment, an Advance Payment of Benefit or a Recoverable Assistance Payment, with income and asset limits and no promise of an amount. Phone before you book anything, and have a back-up plan for the fare.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). WINZ Funeral Travel Help NZ: What to Ask About. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/when-someone-dies/winz-funeral-travel-assistance-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.