The urgent need to increase death benefits
As the cost of living continues to rise at an ever-faster pace, more and more Quebecois are dying without access to a dignified burial, their ashes being sometimes placed in mass graves. In regards of this troubling issue, which primarily affects seniors, the organization Les Petits Frères is joining forces with FADOQ and the Coalition for the Dignity of Seniors to call for an increase in the fixed amount of the death benefit paid by the Quebec Pension Plan (RRQ), which has remained unchanged for nearly 30 years.
A benefit never adjusted since 1998
While the amount of the death benefit varied depending on contributions made to the RRQ until the late 1990s, it was set at a fixed value of $2,500 in 1998 and has not been increased since. The cost of living, however, has risen steadily over this period and has recently accelerated, adding to the urgency of the situation. Today, the minimum cost of a funeral exceeds $4,000 and often exceeds $7,000. The current benefit of $2,500, once fees and taxes are applied, is clearly insufficient.
“Increasingly, the heirs or loved ones of the deceased can no longer afford a proper burial for them. In such cases, the bodies are cremated by the government, with the ashes then placed in mass graves. This situation is unacceptable in a society where the number of deaths now exceeds the number of births,” comments Catherine Harel Bourdon, President and CEO of Les Petits Frères.
An increase without affecting public finances
Les Petits Frères, FADOQ, and the Coalition for the Dignity of Seniors are asking the government to increase this benefit to $5,000 and to index it annually. While we are in a period of budget cuts, the advantage of this request lies in the fact that it can be met without affecting the government’s balance sheet. The Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) has sufficient reserves to absorb such an increase without compromising its financial stability. The government recently announced a 0.2% reduction in the contribution rate, which is equivalent to approximately 2.5 times the cost of the requested increase.
“The death benefit no longer reflects current realities. Families and those who have lost loved ones are thus faced with an increased financial, administrative, and emotional burden in an already difficult situation. Other Quebec organizations, such as the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité au travail (CNESST) and the Société d’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), offer significantly higher funeral benefits,” says Yves Bouchard, president of FADOQ.
“It is time for the government to acknowledge the reality of 2026. While the cost of funerals has nearly tripled, the death benefit has remained frozen in time. Our seniors deserve better than mass graves,” says Micheline Germain, co-spokesperson for the Coalition for the Dignity of Seniors.
An issue set to worsen
Quebec will have more than one million people aged 75 and older by 2030. Its population is among the fastest aging in the world, and for the first time, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births this year. The significant rise in the number of unclaimed bodies is, for its part, well documented. Our organizations are on the front lines in observing the effects of these inevitable changes that will affect our collective future.
We pride ourselves on living in a society that is relatively wealthy and prosperous by international standards. It is absolutely inconceivable that we are unable to provide all our citizens with a decent funeral and burial. Increasing the amount of the death benefit is not a luxury; it is the bare minimum required to preserve human dignity.
