Millennials are likely to enjoy the biggest "inheritance boom"

I'm in a peculiar situation in that I'm the oldest of 4 but am the only one of them with children.

I have 2 sisters and a brother, of those I expect only my brother now has a shot at having kids. Both sisters are early 30s and have no inclination of finding a partner never mind having children. All 3 of them still live at home with my parents and they all have substantial savings compared to myself as I have a mortgage that I would prefer to overpay into.

I've actually broached the subject of freezing their eggs but I don't think they're bothered. It seems both are resigned to spending the rest of their life alone already.

So whilst I might not necessarily be in for a big windfall in inheritance my kids could well be if they end up as the only living relatives to my sisters and brother.
 
TallPaul1878 said:
Eventually I can see the state pension being done away with. You'll work to 70 and if you don't die on the job you'll be allowed to leave and go back on jobseekers for the rest of your life.

Either that or the young will revolt and eat the old.
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There will be no state pension, work until death or if you can't find work you will get a universal payment that covers basic living.
 
Best thing the Millennials can do imo is work on and TRY to get a decent mortgage as usual, and when their parents do plop off, give the next generation the springboard we all wanted, pay it forward I guess.
 
Stev said:
Best thing the Millennials can do imo is work on and TRY to get a decent mortgage as usual, and when their parents do plop off, give the next generation the springboard we all wanted, pay it forward I guess.
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Exactly what I'm doing. I am fortunate enough to be in a situation where, despite me having an expensive mortgage, I've bought a house in a desirable location, my kids attend the best school and I've given them the best opportunity in life that I possibly could. Opportunities that my parents could not afford to give me.

I'm sure I'll probably inherit a bit of something, but I've already decided that I'm going to plough all of that into a house for my kids.
 
Stev said:
Best thing the Millennials can do imo is work on and TRY to get a decent mortgage as usual, and when their parents do plop off, give the next generation the springboard we all wanted, pay it forward I guess.
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Paying it forward also unfortunately doesn't help the wealth gap/balance of wealth. Means those who had poor parents don't get much.
I reckon the government should put 50% tax or more on inheritance above £100,000. It'll also mean oldies go out and blow it all before they pop their clogs and that'll help the economy :P.
 
I'm 33, I'm a millennial and have zero inheritance in line.

Are they basing this off of a nuclear family? I was a single parent child with 1 other brother and sister. I'm not getting any money when mum dies, all she has is her pension, and she lives in a council house.

That's how most the kids I grew up with lived.
 
I'm Generation X (late 30s) and never inherited anything. Just had to work hard for everything I wanted. It feels satisfying in a way but I can't say I don't feel a little jealousy. :p

People inheriting houses or large sums are the very lucky ones. I don't think it makes sense to rely on a payout because as mentioned above, things can change quickly.

I'd rather go to dignitas than spend 4k a month to have my bum wiped by someone else.
 
What do we do about old folk though? There are plenty who are living alone on big 4 and 5 bedroom houses that they don't need, can't afford to run and are letting go to rack and ruin.

Should we make residential care more attractive to the elderly so that they'd be more inclined to move out of their homes and pass them down to their children?

Do people need an attitude shift? Is waiting until you die to pass on wealth a viable strategy seeing as people live considerably longer?

If people are living into their 80s and their children will be in their 50s before they inherit anything then is it worth hanging on to your wealth?

I started my family when I was 26. I assume most people will have started a family around the age of 30. Mortgages require massive deposits that most people struggle to save up for. Is it not a more sensible idea to pass money down at that point when a young family needs every penny they can scrape together?
 
Building more retirement properties and bungalows would help. As would more 1/2 bed houses given that more people of all ages live alone now.

I'm still pretty young and live as sole occupant of a 3 bedroom house. I'd love to move to a 1 or 2 bed bungalow but given prices there's no incentive to downsize plus I like a big living room. Everything I look at is too pokey. :)
 
Narj said:
Building more retirement properties and bungalows would help. As would more 1/2 bed houses given that more people of all ages live alone now.

I'm still pretty young and live as sole occupant of a 3 bedroom house. I'd love to move to a 1 or 2 bed bungalow but given prices there's no incentive to downsize plus I like a big living room. Everything I look at is too pokey. :)
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I've always thought that. If we build vertically then why not build larger proportioned apartments? I have a young family and live in a traditional 3 bed semi-detached with a large garden. I stayed in a holiday apartment in Florida and it was huge inside. Why can't our apartments be similar? I think a lot more people would consider living in an apartment if they weren't pokey little dungeons not big enough to swing a cat.
 
TallPaul1878 said:
I've always thought that. If we build vertically then why not build larger proportioned apartments? I have a young family and live in a traditional 3 bed semi-detached with a large garden. I stayed in a holiday apartment in Florida and it was huge inside. Why can't our apartments be similar? I think a lot more people would consider living in an apartment if they weren't pokey little dungeons not big enough to swing a cat.
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Yep a friend of mine has a 2 bed apartment in Greenwich and it makes me feel claustrophobic. Maximizing dwellings and profits are the priority, not providing a decent living space for the lower and middle parts of the market. :(

I lived in an apartment in Sydney several years ago while working there and loved it. Much more space and great communal facilities. The only issue with apartments is proper soundproofing which seems to be skimped on over here.
 
TallPaul1878 said:
I've always thought that. If we build vertically then why not build larger proportioned apartments?
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Fixation with profit. A lot of builds at the lower/middle of the market might be ~600sqft for a 2 bed. In many bigger cities, you can buy a 900 or 1000 sqft 2 bedder, but it'll the same price per sqft as the smaller apartment. Everything is left to the market.
 
Shouldn't the title read "government expects biggest inheritance boom"? Seeing that these millennials will need to be buying their first home :p
 
esoteric said:
I'm 33, I'm a millennial and have zero inheritance in line.

Are they basing this off of a nuclear family? I was a single parent child with 1 other brother and sister. I'm not getting any money when mum dies, all she has is her pension, and she lives in a council house.

That's how most the kids I grew up with lived.
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It’s based on income/wealth distribution and how that’s shifted since the turn of the 20th Century (specifically since the end of the Second World War):

Around the turn of the 20th Century you had the top 10% owning 90% of the wealth (the top 1% owned 50%); the bottom 50% owned 5% and the middle 40% owned 5%.

Now the top 10% own around 60% of the wealth (the top 1% own 25%); the bottom 5% still only own 5% but the middle 40% have carved out the remaining 35%.

That shift of wealth from the top 10% to the “middle class” (wealth between 50% and 90%) is the result of the huge social upheaval seen since the end of WW2 and is primarily manifested in the ability for Baby Boomers to own property.

If your parents (or grandparents) didn’t get out of the bottom 50% during this time, the chances are you are also in this bottom 50% and by default won’t stand to gain anything. It’s also why the kids you grew up with are more likely to be in the same position.

Children born into the “middle class” who stand to benefit from this inheritance are more likely to be millennials, hence the sensationalist headline and the comments of “non story”.

The sad thing is, social mobility is becoming harder, so those in the bottom 50% will likely stay there and we’re even seeing a reversal of the “gains” made by the middle classes over the last 60/70 years.*

*Source for all of the above: Captial in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty.
 
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