Why 4 in 10 won’t get an inheritance
MOST children expect an inheritance but four in 10 parents plan to spend all their money in retirement.
A survey found three in four of those aged 20 to 35 think they will receive on average £78,000 from their parents.
And a fifth are relying on their wealth to secure their financial futures.
But half of middle-aged parents have already had to dip into their savings to get by.
And four in 10 have already given their children handouts to help them with college fees, driving lessons and the rent.
Stacey Stothard, for Skipton Building Society which carried out the research, said: “It’s a high-risk strategy for people to be resting their financial hopes on estimating their parents’ wealth and then assuming it will all be coming their way.
“The sad reality is that when times are tough financially for them, they’re also tough for their parents.
“The knock-on effect could see children sleepwalking into a financial nightmare, basing their financial plans on something they might never get.”
Seven in 10 of those aged 50 and over told the survey that their savings would be better spent now when their family needs it.
Sixty-eight per cent of adult children expect to inherit their parents’ house, while a third think they will get the car. But a quarter of elderly couples are more likely to leave a nest-egg to their grandchildren.
