Funeral expenses

Before applying for the special funeral expense benefit, the person must first verify if they are entitled to the death benefit. For that purpose, the person must file an application with Retraite Québec.

If the deceased had made sufficient contributions to the Québec Pension Plan, the person could indeed receive the death benefit, paid by Retraite Québec, rather than the special funeral expense benefit, paid by the Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale.

The special funeral expense benefit may be granted to someone who has paid or agreed to pay for the funeral expenses upon the death of a person. This benefit is granted if the deceased person did not have the financial resources to pay for their funeral expenses.

The maximum amount of the special funeral benefit is $2,500. The benefit reimburses all or part of the funeral expenses.

The deceased person does not have to have received social assistance or social solidarity to receive the special funeral benefit.

If the deceased was in receipt of financial assistance as a last resort, you must complete the Application for the payment of funeral expenses form (SR-0006FA) (PDF 140 Kb).

If the deceased was not in receipt of financial assistance of last resort and his or her resources are insufficient to cover funeral expenses, you must complete the form Application for Payment of Funeral Expenses for an Independent Adult Who Was Not Receiving Last-Resort Financial Assistance (3005A) (PDF 0.98 Mb).

Go to a Services Québec office with the completed form.

Reimbursement conditions

The parent of a deceased child can be eligible for a reimbursement, whether or not the child was the parent’s dependent.

The parent must be eligible for social assistance or social solidarity benefits.

Child not under the parent’s charge

A child who was not under the parent’s charge at the time of death must have been

• sheltered by an institution, such as a hospital centre, or
• taken in charge by an intermediate resource, a foster home or a tutor

The special benefit for funeral expenses is determined on the basis of

• the person’s total liquid assets at the time of death
• the value of all the person’s property, minus the person’s debts at the time of death
• the proceeds from a life insurance policy included in the person’s success

The special benefit is also based on

• the value of a prearranged funeral services contract
• the value of a prepurchased sepulture contract

The initial value of such contracts must not exceed $12,000.

Complete the appropriate form and either drop it off or mail it to the nearest Services Québec office.