The government was previously warned a survey carried out by the MCA had shown HM Coastguard would be devastated if moving to a sole-volunteer model went ahead.
It showed that at least a quarter of all volunteers would quit or reduce their hours across the UK, rising to as high as 56% in the South East and southern England regions.
HM Coastguard is mainly made up of volunteers, consisting of about 3,000 voluntary responders compared with 400 paid members of staff.
After the expenses-only model was announced in June, it was also met with criticism from the families of victims.
Wayne Taylor and Ian Pascoe were recovered from the water at Seaton Carew beach in Hartlepool on Sunday after helping two children in difficulty in the sea, but they were pronounced dead a short time later.
Pascoe’s son Dan said: “The Coastguard is an emergency service in its own right.
“England is an island with over 7,000 miles of coastline – who is making these ridiculous decisions?
“How have we, as a country, gotten to a point where if something like this happens in future, you ring 999 and no-one is coming?”
In Withernsea in East Yorkshire, CROs played an integral part in a rescue operation in which three people died.
Grace Keeling, 15, and her friend were taking pictures on the steps leading down to the beach on 2 January, before Grace was engulfed by a large wave.
Her mother Sarah Keeling, 45, and passer-by Mark Ratcliffe, 67, died after going into the water to try to save her.