Britain now boasts 12,640 centenarians (people who have passed 100 years old) a rise of 9% in a year according to the Office for National Statistics

So what does this mean for legacies? Well it’s not just a rise in centenarians, but also a rise in the proportion of people aged over 85, doubling from one in 100 in 1985 to one in 50 today. By 2035, this is projected to rise to one in 20 people.

A new report by HSBC* predicts that with these longer life spans most of us will receive an inheritance much later in life. This will mean the average pension will need to go further, and with costs rising it may mean an increase in the number of retired people releasing wealth to pay for health and housing costs. The other issue with people receiving an inheritance later in life is that it is less likely to be used to to accumulate assets, such as reducing mortgage debt or long term investing. The report shows that 57% are more likely to spend their inheritance on goods and services which store no value such as holidays, healthcare or a more luxurious lifestyle.

Of course the knock on effect of this that the report highlights is that the younger age groups, those under 45 years old, have a much lower expectation of both receiving wealth and being able to leave wealth for their beneficiaries.

The report certainly chimes with many of the feelings at the Institute of Fundraising’s recent legacy conference and certainly Richard Radcliffe struck chords with his ‘letters in kind’ idea where instead of a will, donors write to their beneficiaries with a ‘wish list’. The thorny issue of Lifetime Legacies was also addressed by Joe Saxton and although an interesting notion, would only really apply to Major Donors. With many charities still very reliant on legacies as a big part of their income will this become a problem in the future as potential inheritance is spent on healthcare?

*http://www.newsroom.hsbc.co.uk/press/release/uk_inheritance_to_peak_in_2047