⏳ Reading Time: 9 minutesToday inheritances are arriving later and being used differently. Our special contributor and Daily Telegraph columnist David Stevenson explores why the UK’s generational wealth transfer may not be as large as many expect.
Call me slightly cynical, but I’d wager that at family gatherings celebrating milestone birthdays across the UK, many people – especially those in their 30s and 40s – are doing some mental maths. The older generations may be picking up the tab because they recognise how difficult things have become for younger adults facing student loans, high rents and expensive housing. Meanwhile, the younger ones may occasionally catch themselves wondering what future inheritances could mean for their own financial security.
The inheritance game is now the subject of much anguished debate – a great wealth transfer is slowly underway. Between £5.5 trillion and £7 trillion is expected to pass between UK generations over the next three decades, and the phrase “great wealth transfer” has become a fixture in many debates. On paper, it all sounds magnificent – a great redistribution of familial wealth – but the reality is likely to be far more complicated, delayed, and eroded than anyone expected.
