Singapore Funeral Costs – A Complete Guide

Planning a funeral is tough work, that is especially so in Singapore’s context where funeral wakes are to be conducted usually within a few hours of the death. The whole process can be stressful and this is the last thing you would want to deal with at a delicate time such as the loss of a loved one. This is why it is important for a Funeral Director to be present to assist you at every step of the way. This article lists down every cost imaginable to handle loss of someone you love, starting from the point of death, to the funeral preparation, all the way till the post funeral process.

Upon Death

/> If death happens at home, call a doctor to certify the death. If you do not have contacts for a doctor on 24/7, contact us and we will arrange for the doctor. A doctor’s fee including his or her transportation fee and certification of death fee ranges from $250-$280 during normal office hours. Beyond official working hours, expect a surcharge of $100. Note that you have to prepare the medical history and medicine of the deceased and the doctor might ask a few questions to ascertain the cause of death. In the event that the cause of death cannot be determined, the police will have to be involved and the body would likely be transported to the Health Sciences Authority, Singapore General Hospital for further investigations. A coroner will be involved and will determine if an autopsy is needed to examine the cause of death. A post-mortem is free if it is deemed needed for the cause of death to be determined. However, in cases where the cause of death is natural and an autopsy report is needed by the insurance agencies for claim purposes, the cost of the post-mortem is subsumed by the person requesting for the report and cost $5,863.60.

Upon death, we will go down to also assist you.

Pro tip: Death certificates are now retrievable online using Singpass. There is no need to report the death physically at a police station unlike the past. This also means that the NRIC would not have to be hole punched unlike the past.

Wake Venue

The cost to hold a funeral event at the void deck is free. There is no charges for the use of the void deck but some town councils still charge residents for the use of water and utilities depending on how many sockets are used.

Pro tip: Some town councils require the next of kin to log in via Singpass to an app to book the town council and will not accept phone bookings.

The cost to hold a funeral wake at a funeral parlour is charged daily and their daily rates range from $650 for those at Sin Ming (Sin Ming Funeral Parlour) to $1,700-$1,800 (Singapore Funeral Parlour, Woodlands Memorial).

For Buddhists and Taoists, you can consider hosting the funeral wake at Teo Chew Funeral Parlour which is $650 per day.

Christians and Catholics can have funeral wakes hosted at various churches in Singapore and the daily rate would be $550 onwards.

We will assist in the booking of the funeral parlour or wake location for you to ensure a seamless process for the entire funeral procession with regards to the logistics and timings.

Different funeral wake venues would have different facilities, prices, and opening hours. Please call us to find out more at +65 94892424.

Funeral Package

A funeral package typically includes everything necessary from the collection of the body to the cremation or burial of the decedent. Let us now talk about the amount to set aside for a typical funeral held at a Housing Development Board (HDB) voide deck for three days. For Christian and Catholic Funeral basic packages, it is usually priced in the range of $4,200 to $5,400. A Soka and Free Thinker or Non-religious Funeral basic package would cost about $4,000. A Buddhist Funeral Package has its rates between $5,288 to $6,888 and last but not least, a Taoist Funeral Package would cost $7,500 and above.

Buddhist and Taoist Funeral Packages understandably cost more due to the chanting fees and prayer ceremonial items involved.

Coffins

A basic half-glass coffin would always be included in the basic package. Coffins come in different wood, colors, shapes and sizes. In Singapore, only wood coffins are allowed. We are not allowed to use coffins made of other material like metal and brass. Coffins in Singapore are usually made of mixed density fiberboard. For burial however, people typically use coffins made of better wood like teak and chengal. A basic coffin in the package would cost about $1,800 to $2600 ala carte.

Food Catering

Food has always been an important part of funerals in Singapore regardless of religion due to the food culture we have. Food is used in many ways – a way for people to gather together and a way for people to express their gratitude towards the guests at the funeral wake.

You can choose to have live cook stations which are priced at about $30 per person, which a minimum persons requirement of 50. Live cook stations are those you see in hotel buffets cooking either scrambled eggs or noodles for you on the spot. In this case, it is at a funeral, cooking noodles for guests.

You can also choose to have live cooks cooking within an extended tentage. Note that the extended tentage would typically costs $280 to $350. These live cooks whip up delicious dishes for tables of 10 like a banquet style. Typically, you can order either a dinner or snack set menu. It is akin to “zi char”. A dinner menu would usually have fish, soup, noodle and vegetables. The cost for this is about $150 to $200 per table with a minimum requirement of 8 to 10 tables. Live cooks are a rarity now and a highly raved skill (those good ones) as many of them shut down during covid-19. The easiest

Last but not least, you can consider the most fuss-free method of providing food for guests which is to cater buffet for guests. Price range from $14 to $18 per person with a minimum persons requirement of 30.

Flowers

Basic flowers are generally included in the funeral packages and this would include the floral frame surrounding the photo and table floral arrangements. Some families would want more flowers and the options are as below:
- Flower coil surrounding candles (for Catholic, Buddhist and Taoist Funeral Services) at $60 to $160
- Casket Spray to be placed on top of the coffin at $190 to $380
- Floral Wreaths to be placed around the funeral wake at $128 and above
- Flowers surrounding the tentage and coffin at $1,600 to $2,200
- Tabletop floral arrangement at $190 to $380
- Tablet flowers for each round table at the funeral wake at $28 to $45 per pot

The use of artificial flowers is getting more and more popular this year as younger people taking up the role of planning funerals are more receptive to the idea of faux flowers. Artificial flowers are not only cheaper but also more environmentally-friendly.

Cremation/ Burial Fee

Cremation fee in Singapore depends on which crematorium is chosen and the rates are as below:
Mandai Crematorium: $100
Bright Hill Temple Crematorium: $324
Tse Tho Aum Temple Crematorium: $432

After cremation, there are several methods to handle the ashes. You can either (1)put the ashes in a government niche for $500 per niche with the price of a marble plague starting from $880 to $900 (2)put the ashes at a church or temple which usually is pricier with a leasehold (3)have a sea burial at a starting price of $250 depending on where the sea burial is conducted or (4)have a garden burial which cost $321 payable to the National Environment Agency.

A burial fee would be more as it includes buying the lease for the land which is $940 and the tombstone fee which cost $4000 to $12,000 depending on what stone and design is chosen. A lawn cemetery is cheaper at about $1,500 to $1,700.

Portable Toilet and Fridge

In Singapore, we have the unique situation of holding funeral wakes at the void decks of housing development boards and this give rise to the need to rent toilet and fridges for funerals. Rental of a toilet range from $70 to 90 per day. A fridge would cost $40 to $60 per day. The number of toilet(s) needed depends on the number of guests you are expecting. Tidbits and drinks are normally on consignment which means they are charged per use only. Some funeral companies package a fixed amount of tidbits and drinks into the funeral package already. Usually these packages are higher-priced and hence you should really see if you would need that amount of tidbits and drinks before deciding whether to take up the package that includes the tidbits and drinks.

Funeral Photography and Videography

Taking photographs and videos at funerals are deemed to be taboo in the past but less so now. Funerals are a once in a lifetime events, which can be as important as weddings. Photography rates start at $500 for the entire funeral day for a Christian, Catholic, Free-Thinker, Soka and Buddhist Funeral. Taoist photography rates would cost more due to the longer duration. Videography rates are usually priced at about $880 onwards. Harmony Funeral Care provides free video montages

Post-Funeral

Chinese Funerals like Buddhist and Taoist Funerals have post funeral rituals to observe. For Buddhists, most post funeral chanting fee start from $350 per session while for Taoists, post funeral chanting rituals can be over $10,000. Other religions generally do not have post-funeral rituals but people do still visit the place of ash storage every year during the death anniversary date.

Legal Issues

There are many administrative matters to deal with after the funeral with regards to the estate of the deceased. How to deal with the estate would depend on whether the decedent has a will. If there is a will, the original will has to be taken by the executor together with the death certificate to a law firm to obtain a grant of probate. This grant of probate would allow the executor to start executing the will according to the deceased’s wishes. Without a will, things can get a little complicated at times but if the total value of the deceased’s estate is $40,000 or less, bereaved family members can visit the Public Trustee Office to appoint an administrator to administer the estate. For estates that exceed $40,000, bereaved families have to visit a law firm to get a letter of administration. A simple will can cost as low as $99 to be done up but a letter of administration and a grant of probate starting rates are $1,800 and $1,500 respectively. A letter of administration cost more as the work undertaken to obtain it is generally more.

All in all, hosting a funeral wake is not an easy task and involves conscientious planning and budgeting. This guide will definitely be useful in helping you to calculate how much you should set aside for a decent funeral in Singapore. It is important to note that the price vary greatly depending on the religion and that different companies include slightly different things in their package. The key is to work with a Funeral Home you are comfortable with so that you will feel assured that things are taken care of for the next few days. Let us, Harmony Funeral Care guide you through this entire process.