People expect to receive their most significant gift or inheritance at an average age of 52, but many say being given it earlier would have greater impact.
Less than half of people surveyed (48%) reckon they will receive wealth at the age when it would benefit them most.
The third report from Canada Life’s Life100+ research programme revealed that inheritance impact is greatest when wealth is received earlier in life.
Some 59% of those who received an inheritance or gift aged 25 - 34, and 60% of those aged 35 - 44, said it had a great deal of impact. The figure slumped to 36% among those aged 45 - 54 and just 27% among those aged 65 -74.
That’s because younger recipients were more likely to use wealth for transformational life milestones.
Those receiving wealth between 25 - 34 years were most likely to use it to fund a deposit for a home (30%) and those aged 35 - 44 years to clear debts other than the mortgage (30%).
There were also differences reflected in the type of transfer received, with impact greatest for those receiving lifetime gifts (money, property or other assets given while the giver is still alive).
Almost two thirds (61%) of those who had already received a lifetime gift said it had had a great impact on their life, compared to a third (33%) who had received an inheritance on death.
Lifetime gifts are also more likely than inheritances to be used at pivotal life stages. They were more likely than an inheritance to be used for a home deposit, (25% compared with 10%), education costs, (20% compared with 5%) and repaying debt, (41% compared with 32%)
By contrast, nearly half (49%) of those who receive an inheritance, typically received later, add the money to savings, compared to 40% of those who receive a gift, suggesting that later inheritances more often strengthen financial resilience.
Rose St Louis, chief customer officer, Canada Life said: “It’s clear from the data that families want to help loved ones. The majority of Brits intend to pass wealth on in some form, and lifetime gifting is becoming more common.
“Yet the prospect of living longer is creating a difficult trade-off between supporting younger generations when it matters most and protecting your own financial security in later life.”
• The research was conducted by the Big Window. Findings are based on a representative sample of 2,000 UK adults (quantitative survey conducted May) and 240 financial advisers (June).