Over half of UK adults (56%) don’t have a will, 76% have no plan for digital assets, and 47% believe legal protection that doesn’t exist will look after them.
The research, a combination of government and industry data, alongside in-house surveys, comes from chartered independent financial advice firm The Private Office.
TPO survey of 2,126 UK adults, mostly aged 45 and over, found that 80.7% believe wealth should be passed on to the next generation during their lifetime rather than left to inheritance. Yet many hold back, primarily out of concern about their own future care costs and retirement security. Among those who have not yet gifted, 39.7% still intend to. The research suggests uncertainty about long-term care costs is the main barrier, not an unwillingness to give said TPO.
The research also references a study by the Money and Pensions Service which found 56% of UK adults lack a will, including 53% of those aged 50 to 64, and survey by consumer group Which?, which found that 76% of people have made no plan for what happens to their digital assets when they die, despite 91% of UK adults now use some form of online or remote banking.
The inclusion unused pension funds in estate calculations when it comes to inheritance tax from April 2027 brings more families into the IHT net and subjects some beneficiaries to income tax as well as IHT, increasing the burden on executors warned TPO. Reviewing pension nominations and keeping clear records of all pensions held is no longer just good practice , it is something families will be grateful for.
Commenting on the findings Dean McSloy, partner at The Private Office, said: “Talking about what happens when we die is never easy, and it’s understandable that people put it off. But from our experience, the biggest cost of not having these conversations is not only the financial cost, but the additional stress and uncertainty placed on the people we leave behind. When a family is already dealing with the loss of someone they love, having to untangle their financial affairs or discover that arrangements weren’t quite what they thought can make an incredibly difficult time even harder.”
