Britons inherit £37bn a year from relatives
BRITONS inherit more than £37bn every year, according to a study released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics that sets out the scale of inter-generation wealth transfers.
Half of the inheritances came from parents, while a fifth came from grandparents and a tenth from aunts or uncles. One in 20 received money from non-relatives.
More than 1.6m adults received an inheritance worth over £1,000 between 2008 and 2010. But there was an enormous gap in the amount received, with 76 per cent of inherited wealth going to just a quarter of the population.
While half of inheritors received relatively modest amounts of less than £10,000, one in 10 received over £125,000 each.
“Tax would have been paid on a significant percentage of the £75bn inherited over the past two years and this underlines the need for people to plan well in advance for inheritance tax,” said William Hunter, founder of Hunter Wealth Management
“Inheritance tax planning is often overlooked because it can be complex.”