Survey finds one fifth have less to give as inheritance than they expected
November 2016 - Financial Services
Survey finds one fifth have less to give as inheritance than they expected: According to a recent survey by Co-op Legal Services, 21 per cent (or one fifth) of people over the age of 50 said that they have less money than they expected to give as an inheritance to their loved ones after they pass.
Of the respondents, 35 per cent said that this lack of money was a result of them retiring earlier than they had planned and having to use funds that would have otherwise been given as inheritance. A further 12 per cent said that they expect to put funds towards care costs for their partner or themselves in the future.
Some respondents also said that there will be less money to give to their loved ones as inheritance because they would like to spend their savings on having fun in their retirement and doing things such as travelling, purchasing a new car or enjoying meals out.
As a result of the smaller pots of money, a financial gap could be created for people who firmly believe that they will receive an inheritance but perhaps may not. According to the survey, 42 per cent of people have already planned how they will spend their inheritance that they are expecting but have not yet received.
The respondents who have already planned how they will spend their inheritance were found to have planned putting their inheritance towards a range of things such as: helping their children purchase a house, clearing debts, starting a business, purchasing a holiday home or doing work on their house.
Of the 2,000 individuals in the survey, 20 per cent said that they would be worried for their future if they were told that a loved one had spent their 'would-be' inheritance before they passed.
Of the over-50s in the survey, 51 per cent said that they would not feel guilty about spending money instead of leaving it to loved ones as they have worked hard to earn their money and wanted to enjoy spending it.
22 per cent of the respondents said that their family should work for their money, and a further 9 per cent said that they would prefer to pass their money to a charity rather than to their family members.
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