News
Kids miss out as one in four over-50s chooses to SKI
SKI-ing (Spending the Kids’s Inheritance) is becoming increasing popular, with around a quarter of parents planning to leave just a fraction of their estate – or none at all – to their children.
This could leave the younger generation with a nasty shock, according to research by Skipton Financial Services, as more than half of Brits under 40 years old are expecting to receive a large inheritance.
Some 14 per cent of parents are planning to leave some of their estate to their children, while one in ten will leave nothing at all.
A string of high profile parents – including Bill Gates and Sting – have told the press that their children will not inherit their fortunes. Of those everyday Brits doing the same, one in ten don’t want their children receiving money for nothing and 24 per cent want to enjoy the money themselves.
Andrew Barker, managing director of Skipton Financial Services, said: “Traditionally your entire financial wealth and any assets would all be inherited by your children after your death. But it seems this is becoming a thing of the past as people want to use the ‘would-be’ inheritance fund to enjoy their own well-earned retirement or even because they feel their children have already had their fair share.”
One in 20 over-50s had experienced pressure from their children to hand over part of their wealth sooner rather than later; some 23 per cent of parents have already given their children money earmarked for their inheritance, typically by the time their offspring hit 30 and averaging £15,000.
Under 40s told Skipton that they were counting on the money they were due to inherit to take the place of a pension fund (17 per cent), help start a family or retire early. One in five was reliant on the influx of funds to get them onto the property ladder.
Barker said: “We are living longer than ever before, so it’s not realistic for young people to rely on their inheritance to fund their retirement. While Bill Gates’s children are still in line to receive a tidy sum even if they get one per cent of his estate, the sentiment behind the decision is the same: wanting their children to stand on their own two feet and not rely on a windfall to come their way to save the day and pay for their financial future.”
