The cost of dying on the rise as well

End-of-life costs, including funerals, probate, headstones and flowers, increased to an average of £7,248, up 20 per cent since 2007 and over £400 since last year, according to the Annual Cost of Dying Report.

Funeral costs have increased by 61 per cent over the past seven years and will continue to increase, according to the survey.

The report was published as official figures revealed the consumer prices index (CPI) rate of inflation – a broad measure for the cost of living – increased to 4.5 per cent in August, moving closer to a three-year high.

Elsewhere, more people are being caught off guard by funeral costs as 53 per cent of respondents said funeral costs were more than expected, up from 36 per cent in 2009, while only 7 per cent said the cost was lower than anticipated.

The report found 26 per cent of respondents have made no plans for later life, while 87 per cent have made no arrangements as to where they will live and how they will be cared for if they are unable to care for themselves in old age.

Dr Kate Woodthorpe, lecturer in Sociology at University of Bath, said: “As a society, we have to ask ourselves whether the current infrastructure for end of life support is fit for purpose.” Dr Woodthorpe said the number of deaths each year is expected to accelerate and by 2030 there will be an additional 80,000 people dying a year.