Wills, inheritance tax and the middle-aged beneficiary

The average age at which a child inherits from their parents is now 61. What does that mean for the 'average' 61-year-old?

If they’re of the 1 in 3 who have made no or woefully inadequate provision for their pension it’s a sad truth that their parents’ death may bring a sigh of financial relief. I’m not sure I really want to know the statistics for the number of middle -aged people counting on an inheritance to finance their retirement; actually (and perhaps anxiously) waiting for their parents to die.

At the other end of the scale is the large number of 61-year-olds who are financially secure with their mortgage paid off and a healthy pension pot. An inheritance while it might have made so much difference had they received it at an earlier age is at this stage in their lives nothing more than an inheritance tax (IHT) bill waiting to happen (on their own death).

Our 61-year-old’s children will likely belong to the first generation in history to be generally worse off than their parents. Their jobs don’t pay as well; they’re saddled with...

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