Although half of inheritors received less than £10,000, one in ten received £125,000 or more.

Nearly nine in every ten inheritances (88%) comprised, at least in some part, of money or savings.

Property formed part of 19.5% of inheritances and personal possessions such as jewellery or collectibles were included in 12%.

The most common action for those receiving property inheritance was to sell it and for non-property inheritance to save it.

Unsurprisingly, rates of inheritance were higher for individuals living in households which already had the highest levels of wealth.

The figures also revealed that prospects of inheriting decrease if you are male (as females live longer) and for those aged over 65.

Almost half of inheritances (47%) came from a parent or parent in law, while just over a fifth (23%) came from grandparents.

The ONS said a “surprisingly” large number of inheritances, just over one in ten (11%), were received from an uncle or aunt. One in 20 inheritors received assets from a non-relative like a friend or neighbour.

Meanwhile, £3.1bn was paid in inheritance tax (IHT) in the 2012-13 tax year,  according to Danny Cox, head of financial planning at Hargreaves Lansdown.

In 2011-12, 244,404 estates paid no inheritance tax, while 15,584 estates paid a total of £2.9bn or £186,922 on average each.

Despite this, Cox said IHT was one of the “easiest taxes to avoid” due to the various reliefs and exemptions available.

“Most people start to look at their inheritance tax plans at the point they retire. Most planning involves gifting income or capital and the earlier this planning can be done, the more effective it will be,” he said.

The Government announced earlier this year the nil rate band (IHT threshold) has been frozen at £325,000 until April 2018