Inheritance is where the wealth of one generation becomes the starting position of the next, and it is doing so on a growing scale. This briefing sets out what the UK evidence supports about the link between inheritance and inequality, focusing on England and Wales, and models three derived measures from published datasets. The strongest single finding is subtle: inheritances look set to do little to standard measures of relative income inequality, yet a great deal to social mobility. Every figure carries its source, date and geography at its point of use. Figures are current as at July 2026 and are subject to change.
Executive summary
- Inheritances are projected to be worth about 9% of lifetime income for people born in the 1960s, rising to about 16% for those born in the 1980s, roughly a doubling in relative importance across two decades of birth cohorts (Institute for Fiscal Studies, Great Britain). Projection
- For the 1960s-born, an inheritance is projected to raise lifetime income by about 2% for those with the poorest fifth of parents against about 17% for the wealthiest fifth; for the 1980s-born the gap widens to 5% against 29% (IFS, Great Britain). Projection
- Among the 1980s-born whose parents are in the poorest fifth, inheritance is projected to raise the share who remain stuck in the poorest fifth by lifetime income from 40% to 48%, an effect about twice as large as for the 1960s-born (38% to 41%) (IFS, Great Britain). Projection
- Fewer than one in three people (32%) have benefited or expect to benefit from an inheritance or gift in their lifetime, and the richest fifth of earners are about twice as likely to receive a significant transfer as the poorest fifth (about 50% against 25%) (Resolution Foundation, UK). Survey
- In Great Britain in 2020-22, the wealthiest 1% of households held about 10% of all household wealth, the same share as the least wealthy 50% combined, with a wealth Gini of 0.59 (ONS). Accreditation suspended
- Inheritance tax fell on just 4.72% of UK deaths in the 2023-24 tax year, so inheritance passes largely untaxed and broadly follows the existing wealth distribution (HMRC, UK).
- Reliefs are highly concentrated: of about 4,060 estates claiming business property relief in 2023-24, 109 estates (3%) made claims worth over £5 million each, accounting for 50% of the relief's total value (HMRC, UK).
- Because standard inequality measures depend on relative gaps, the IFS projects inheritances will do little to the lifetime-income Gini, yet will materially reduce social mobility, moving people with wealthy parents nearer the top (IFS, Great Britain). Projection · nuance
Key findings
- The median inheritance is projected to be worth about 8.7% of household lifetime net income for people born in the 1960s, 12% for the 1970s-born and 16% for the 1980s-born (Institute for Fiscal Studies, "Inheritances and inequality over the life cycle", Report R188, April 2021, Great Britain). Projection
- Average inheritances compared with lifetime income for the 1980s-born are projected to be almost double those of the 1960s-born (IFS R188, Great Britain). Projection
- Among the 1980s-born, the median lifetime inheritance is projected at around £150,000 for households in the bottom fifth by lifetime income and around £390,000 for the top fifth (IFS R188, Great Britain). Projection
- As a share of lifetime income, the median inheritance for the 1980s-born is projected to be similar across the income distribution, about 15% for the bottom fifth against about 16% for the top fifth (IFS R188, Great Britain). Projection
- For the 1960s-born, an inheritance is projected to raise lifetime income by about 2% for those with parents in the poorest fifth of the wealth distribution and about 17% for those with parents in the wealthiest fifth (IFS R188, Great Britain). Projection
- For the 1980s-born, that parental-wealth gap widens to about 5% for the poorest-fifth parents against about 29% for the wealthiest fifth (IFS R188, Great Britain). Projection
- Inheritances are projected to account for around a quarter of the inequality in lifetime consumption by parental background for the 1960s-born, rising to about a third for the 1980s-born (IFS R188, Great Britain). Projection
- Among the 1980s-born with parents in the poorest fifth, inheritance is projected to raise the share who remain in the poorest fifth by lifetime income from 40% to 48%, roughly twice the effect projected for the 1960s-born, from 38% to 41% (IFS R188, Great Britain). Projection
- The share of people expecting to receive an inheritance rose from 72% of those born in the 1960s to 81% of those born in the 1980s (IFS R188, Great Britain). Survey
- Among the 1960s and 1970s-born, 38% of the highest-earning quarter of degree-holders expected to inherit £100,000 or more, against only 3% of the lowest-earning quarter with no more than compulsory schooling (IFS R188, Great Britain). Survey
- Fewer than one in three people (32%) have benefited or expect to benefit from an inheritance or gift in their lifetime (Resolution Foundation, "Intergenerational rapport fair?", 3 February 2022, UK). Survey
- The richest fifth of earners are about twice as likely to receive a significant transfer as the poorest fifth, at about 50% against 25% (Resolution Foundation, 2022, UK). Survey
- In Great Britain in April 2020 to March 2022, the wealthiest 1% of households held about 10% of all household wealth, equal to the share held by the least wealthy 50% combined, with a wealth Gini coefficient of 0.59 (ONS, Household total wealth in Great Britain). Accreditation suspended
- Inheritance tax fell on 4.72% of UK deaths in the 2023-24 tax year, creating £7.03 billion of liabilities across 30,400 taxpaying estates (HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics, published 30 July 2026).
- Of about 4,060 estates claiming business property relief in 2023-24, 109 estates (3%) made claims worth more than £5 million each, accounting for 50% of the relief's total value of about £1,924 million (HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics, UK).
How large inheritance looms in a lifetime
The starting point is scale relative to a person's own resources. The Institute for Fiscal Studies projects the wealth held by the parents of successive birth cohorts, then compares projected inheritances against those cohorts' projected lifetime incomes. Three forces push the ratio up for younger generations: their parents hold more wealth, they have fewer siblings to share it with, and their own incomes are no higher than those born a decade earlier.
| Birth cohort | Median inheritance as % of lifetime net income | Geography, basis | Source (Tier) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Born 1960s | ~8.7% | Great Britain, projection | IFS R188 (T1) |
| Born 1970s | ~12% | Great Britain, projection | IFS R188 (T1) |
| Born 1980s | ~16% | Great Britain, projection | IFS R188 (T1) |
Source: IFS, Inheritances and inequality over the life cycle (Report R188, Bourquin, Joyce and Sturrock, April 2021), Figure 2.7. Great Britain. Projected medians, subject to uncertainty around future asset prices.
What it means. Inherited wealth is becoming a larger determinant of lifetime living standards for younger people than it was for their parents. That is a statement about averages and medians, not about any individual, and the projections carry material uncertainty because they depend on future house prices, longevity and returns. The direction, however, is consistent across the IFS work and the Resolution Foundation's separate analysis.
The parental-wealth gap, and why it is widening
Averaged across the income distribution, inheritances look similar as a share of lifetime income for low- and high-income households. That apparent evenness masks the finding that matters for inequality: the size of an inheritance tracks the wealth of a person's parents, so the uplift is far larger for those who started ahead.
| Parents' wealth | Lifetime-income uplift, 1960s-born | Lifetime-income uplift, 1980s-born | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poorest fifth | ~2% | ~5% | IFS R188 (T1) |
| Wealthiest fifth | ~17% | ~29% | IFS R188 (T1) |
| Gap (percentage points) | ~15pp | ~24pp | Derived from IFS |
Source: IFS, Inheritances and inequality over the life cycle, Figure 2.9. Great Britain, projection. The percentage-point gap is derived by Fairchild Oldfield from the two published figures.
What it means, and a limitation. In percentage-point terms the gap between richest- and poorest-parent uplifts widens from about 15 points for the 1960s-born to about 24 points for the 1980s-born. In ratio terms the multiple actually narrows, because the poorest-fifth figure rises from 2% to 5%. Both statements are true and describe different things; the honest reading is that inheritance adds more to everyone, but adds much more, in cash and in points of lifetime income, to those with wealthier parents. The variation within income groups is starker still: among the 1980s-born, about one in ten households in the lowest fifth by lifetime income is projected to inherit a sum worth over half their lifetime income, against fewer than 1% of the top fifth (IFS R188, Great Britain).
The paradox: little effect on inequality, large effect on mobility
The most important and most easily misread finding is that inheritances look set to leave standard measures of relative income inequality, such as the lifetime-income Gini, largely unchanged, while reducing social mobility. Standard inequality indices depend only on the relative size of households' resources; if inheritances lift most people somewhat, the ranking gaps move little. Social mobility is different, because it asks how strongly a person's position depends on their parents, and inheritance is a source of resources tied tightly to parental wealth.
For the 1960s-born whose parents are in the poorest fifth, inheritances are projected to raise the proportion who end up in the poorest fifth by lifetime income themselves from 38% to 41%. Among the 1980s-born, the equivalent rise is from 40% to 48%, an effect around twice as large (Institute for Fiscal Studies, Great Britain, projection).
Inheritances are projected to account for around a quarter of the inequality in lifetime consumption by parental background for the 1960s-born, rising to about a third for the 1980s-born (Institute for Fiscal Studies, Great Britain, projection).
What it means. As inheritances grow, people from poorer backgrounds have more ground to make up through their own earnings if they are to catch up with those who have wealthy parents. Inheritance re-orders who sits where in the lifetime-income distribution, pulling those with wealthy parents nearer the top, even as the overall spread changes little. Anyone quoting these figures should keep the two effects separate: the claim is not that inheritance widens headline inequality, but that it hardens the link between where you start and where you end up. These are modelled projections and should be cited as such.
Who inherits, when, and how it compounds
Survey evidence on expectations and receipt reinforces the modelling. Most people do not expect a meaningful inheritance, and those who do are disproportionately already well off. Timing compounds the effect, because inheritances tend to arrive well into middle age, after the life stages when money is scarcest.
| Measure | Figure | Geography, date | Source (Tier) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expect to benefit from an inheritance or gift | Fewer than 1 in 3 (32%) | UK, 2022 survey | Resolution Foundation (T1) |
| Chance of a significant transfer, richest vs poorest fifth | ~50% vs ~25% | UK, 2022 survey | Resolution Foundation (T1) |
| Homeowners who say a transfer was essential to buying | 6% (about 1.6 million households) | UK, 2022 survey | Resolution Foundation (T1) |
| Typical age today's 20-35s are projected to inherit | ~61 | UK, projection | Resolution Foundation (T1) |
| Expected to inherit £100,000+, top-earning graduates vs lowest-earning, least-qualified | 38% vs 3% | Great Britain, 1960s-70s cohorts | IFS R188 (T1) |
Sources: Resolution Foundation, "Intergenerational rapport fair?" (3 February 2022, YouGov poll of 8,749 UK adults); IFS, Report R188, Great Britain.
What it means, and a caveat. Inheritance often arrives too late to shape the decisions where a windfall would matter most, such as buying a first home in one's twenties or thirties; the projected typical receipt age is about 61. It can still compound advantage indirectly, because 6% of homeowners, about 1.6 million households, say a transfer or gift was essential to buying at all. The Resolution Foundation and IFS figures use different definitions of a "significant" or "meaningful" inheritance and different survey vintages, so they are presented to triangulate rather than to be added together.
The wealth base that inheritance passes on
Inheritance inequality reflects the wealth inequality that precedes it. The ONS Wealth and Assets Survey provides the official, if imperfect, measure of how concentrated household wealth is before it is passed on. This estimate carries an important health warning: the Office for Statistics Regulation suspended the survey's accredited status in June 2025, so it should be treated as indicative rather than definitive.
| Measure | Figure | Geography, date |
|---|---|---|
| Median household total wealth (incl. pensions) | £293,700 | Great Britain, Apr 2020-Mar 2022 |
| Wealthiest 10% threshold | £1,200,500 or more | Great Britain, Apr 2020-Mar 2022 |
| Least wealthy 10% threshold | £16,500 or less | Great Britain, Apr 2020-Mar 2022 |
| Share of all wealth held by wealthiest 1% | ~10% (= least wealthy 50% combined) | Great Britain, Apr 2020-Mar 2022 |
| Wealth Gini coefficient | 0.59 | Great Britain, Apr 2020-Mar 2022 |
Source: ONS, Household total wealth in Great Britain, April 2020 to March 2022. Accreditation suspended from Round 8 (June 2025); treat with caution.
Why it matters for inheritance. Because inheritance broadly follows the existing distribution of wealth, and because inheritance tax reaches so few estates, a transfer of this scale tends to reproduce concentration rather than dissolve it. The wealth Gini of 0.59 is far higher than the income Gini, which is one reason inherited wealth transmits advantage so effectively across generations.
How little inheritance is taxed, and how concentrated the reliefs are
Inheritance tax is often described as a check on dynastic wealth, but it reaches a small minority of estates, and its reliefs are heavily concentrated among the largest. In the 2023-24 tax year, inheritance tax fell on 4.72% of UK deaths. Most estates pass entirely free of the tax because of the nil-rate bands, the spouse and civil-partner exemption, and reliefs for business and agricultural property.
| Measure | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total IHT liabilities | £6.70 billion | £7.03 billion (+5%) | HMRC (T1) |
| Taxpaying estates | 31,500 | 30,400 (−3.6%) | HMRC (T1) |
| Share of UK deaths taxed | 4.62% | 4.72% | HMRC (T1) |
| Estates claiming business property relief | n/a | ~4,060 | HMRC (T1) |
| Top 3% of BPR claimants (109 estates, £5m+ each) | n/a | 50% of relief value (~£1,924m) | HMRC (T1) |
Source: HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics commentary (published 30 July 2026). United Kingdom.
What it means. A tax that reaches under 5% of deaths, whose most valuable reliefs flow disproportionately to a handful of very large estates, does little to interrupt the transmission of wealth across the distribution. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts inheritance tax receipts of £8.7 billion in 2025-26, about 0.3% of national income and 0.7% of all tax receipts (OBR, Inheritance tax, UK). Two changes widen the base over the decade: the main thresholds are frozen to the end of 2030-31, extended by a further year at Budget 2025 on 26 November 2025 from a previous end-of-2029-30 position (gov.uk, UK), and from 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds count towards the estate.
The current thresholds and reliefs, England and Wales, as at July 2026, are set out below. See our Inheritance Tax explained guide for how they interact.
| Allowance or rate | Level (July 2026) |
|---|---|
| Nil-rate band | £325,000 (frozen to end of 2030-31) |
| Residence nil-rate band | Up to £175,000 (up to £500,000 with a home to direct descendants; up to £1,000,000 per couple) |
| Standard rate | 40% (36% if 10%+ of the net estate passes to charity) |
| Taper threshold | £2,000,000 |
| Agricultural + business property relief (from 6 April 2026) | 100% on the first £2,500,000 of combined qualifying assets per person, 50% above; transferable up to £5,000,000 per couple |
Source: gov.uk/inheritance-tax; agricultural and business property relief allowance per gov.uk, 23 December 2025. England and Wales. Subject to change.
Original synthesis: three measures from public data
The measures below are derived by Fairchild Oldfield by combining published datasets. Each is an estimate or model, clearly labelled, and each states its logic, its inputs and its limitations. None is an official statistic, and none should be cited as one.
1. Parental-Background Advantage Gap
An estimate of how far the inheritance advantage of wealthy over poor backgrounds is widening across generations, in points of lifetime income.
Calculation. Take the IFS projected lifetime-income uplift by parental wealth quintile and subtract poorest from wealthiest. For the 1960s-born: 17% − 2% = about a 15 percentage-point gap. For the 1980s-born: 29% − 5% = about a 24 percentage-point gap. The gap is estimated to widen by roughly 60% across the two cohorts.
Inputs: IFS R188, Figure 2.9 lifetime-income uplifts by parental wealth (Great Britain).
Limitations. This is a simple difference of two published projections, not a new estimate of inequality. In ratio terms the gap narrows (from about 8.5x to about 5.8x) because the poorest-fifth figure rises, so the percentage-point framing and the ratio framing tell different stories; both are reported here. The underlying figures are modelled and depend on future asset prices.
2. Social-Mobility Drag Multiplier
An estimate of how much more inheritance entrenches the poorest backgrounds for the younger cohort than the older one.
Calculation. The IFS projects inheritance raises the share of poorest-parent children who stay in the poorest fifth by lifetime income by about 3 percentage points for the 1960s-born (38% to 41%) and about 8 points for the 1980s-born (40% to 48%). Dividing the two gives a drag multiplier of about 2.7 times, meaning inheritance is estimated to entrench bottom-of-the-distribution positions roughly two-and-a-half to three times as strongly for the 1980s-born as for the 1960s-born.
Inputs: IFS R188, social-mobility projections by parental wealth (Great Britain).
Limitations. The IFS itself characterises the 1980s effect as "around twice as big"; the 2.7x figure is a literal ratio of the two point-changes and is sensitive to rounding in the published shares. It measures downward stickiness at the bottom only, not mobility across the whole distribution, and rests on modelled projections.
3. Relief Concentration Ratio
An estimate of how unequally the most valuable inheritance tax relief is distributed among the estates that claim it.
Calculation. HMRC reports that in 2023-24, 3% of estates claiming business property relief (109 of about 4,060) accounted for 50% of the relief's value. A perfectly even distribution would give that 3% a 3% share, so their 50% share represents an estimated concentration ratio of about 17 times their proportionate claim. Set against a tax that reaches only 4.72% of deaths, the most generous relief is concentrated in a very small number of very large estates.
Inputs: HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics (UK, 2023-24), business property relief tables.
Limitations. The 17x ratio uses claimant counts, not the value each estate would otherwise owe, so it describes concentration of the relief among claimants, not the tax avoided across all estates. It covers business property relief only, not agricultural property relief, and reflects a single year that predates the April 2026 relief cap.
Recommended charts
Five chart specifications a newsroom or analyst could build directly from the cited datasets. Described, not embedded.
- Inheritance grows across generations. Bar chart of median inheritance as a share of lifetime income, 8.7% (1960s-born), 12% (1970s), 16% (1980s). Source: IFS R188, Figure 2.7. Insight: inherited wealth matters roughly twice as much for the young. Citation-worthy because it dates and sources a widely paraphrased claim.
- The parental-wealth gap. Grouped bars of lifetime-income uplift by parents' wealth quintile, 1960s-born (2% to 17%) against 1980s-born (5% to 29%). Source: IFS R188, Figure 2.9. Insight: the advantage of wealthy parents widens across cohorts.
- The mobility paradox. Slope chart of the share of poorest-parent children who stay in the poorest fifth, before and after inheritance, 38%→41% (1960s) versus 40%→48% (1980s). Source: IFS R188. Insight: little effect on inequality indices, large effect on mobility.
- Who expects to benefit. Simple comparison of receipt probability, richest fifth 50% versus poorest fifth 25%, with 32% of all adults expecting any benefit. Source: Resolution Foundation, 2022. Insight: the "windfall" reaches a minority, skewed to the top.
- Relief concentration. Lorenz-style bar showing 3% of business property relief claimants taking 50% of the relief's value in 2023-24. Source: HMRC. Insight: the most valuable relief is highly concentrated.
Methodology
Source selection. Priority went to Tier 1 sources: the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Resolution Foundation for distributional modelling and survey evidence, HMRC and ONS for tax and wealth statistics, the OBR for the receipts forecast, and gov.uk for thresholds and reliefs. The IFS Report R188 is the analytical centrepiece because it is the most complete UK study linking inheritance to lifetime income, social mobility and parental background.
Inclusion and exclusion. Every figure was fetched from its source and checked for exact value, cohort or year and geography before use. Figures that could not be verified against a named source were excluded. Where the IFS reports a percentage as a chart value, it is given as approximate (for example "about 8.7%" for the 1960s-born share of lifetime income) rather than to false precision.
Handling conflicts and nuance. The headline nuance, that inheritances do little to relative income inequality but much to social mobility, is stated explicitly rather than smoothed over, because conflating the two is the most common error in reporting this topic. IFS lifetime-income projections and Resolution Foundation survey figures use different methods, definitions and vintages and are presented to triangulate, not reconciled to a single number.
Estimates. The three synthesis measures are derived by Fairchild Oldfield from the cited datasets, each labelled as an estimate or model with its logic, inputs and limitations stated. None is an official statistic.
Currency and caveats. Data reflect the latest releases available at the last review date of July 2026. IFS R188 dates from April 2021 and its projections are cohort-based rather than current outturns; the ONS Wealth and Assets Survey is used with the caveat that its accredited status was suspended in June 2025. Figures are subject to change.
Source quality ranking
| Source | Used for | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Institute for Fiscal Studies, Report R188 | Inheritance as share of lifetime income, parental-wealth effects, social mobility | Tier 1 · independent research institute |
| Resolution Foundation, "Intergenerational rapport fair?" | Receipt probability, expectations, age of inheritance | Tier 1 · independent research foundation |
| HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics | Estates taxed, share of deaths, relief concentration | Tier 1 · official statistics |
| ONS, Household total wealth in Great Britain | Wealth distribution, concentration, wealth Gini | Tier 1 · official (accreditation suspended) |
| OBR, Inheritance tax | Receipts forecast and national-income share | Tier 1 · official forecast |
| gov.uk, Inheritance Tax; APR/BPR reform | Thresholds, rates, relief rules | Tier 1 · government |
For journalists and analysts
Most quotable statistics
- Inheritance rises from about 9% of lifetime income for the 1960s-born to about 16% for the 1980s-born (IFS R188, Great Britain). Projection
- Inheritance lifts lifetime income by about 2% for those with the poorest parents against about 17% for the richest, for the 1960s-born (IFS R188, Great Britain). Projection
- Inheritance is projected to raise the share of poorest-parent 1980s children stuck in the poorest fifth from 40% to 48% (IFS R188, Great Britain). Projection
- Fewer than one in three people (32%) expect to benefit from an inheritance or gift (Resolution Foundation, UK, 2022). Survey
- The richest fifth are twice as likely to inherit significantly as the poorest, about 50% versus 25% (Resolution Foundation, UK, 2022). Survey
- Inheritance tax fell on 4.72% of UK deaths in 2023-24 (HMRC).
- 3% of business property relief claimants took 50% of the relief's value in 2023-24 (HMRC, UK).
Data limitations
- IFS R188 figures are cohort-based projections from 2021, dependent on future asset prices, returns and longevity.
- The "little effect on inequality, large effect on mobility" finding is frequently misreported; the two effects must be kept separate.
- Resolution Foundation figures are survey-based and use a different definition of a "significant" inheritance from the IFS.
- The ONS wealth survey had its accredited status suspended in June 2025 and should be treated as indicative.
- The three synthesis measures are Fairchild Oldfield estimates that combine or ratio published figures and are not official statistics.
Recommended dataset fields
For a downloadable companion dataset: metric name; value; unit; geography (UK / Great Britain / England and Wales); cohort or reference period; source organisation; source URL; tier (1-3); statistic type (official / forecast / survey / projection / derived); flag (current / dated / accreditation-suspended); note.
Press summary (about 150 words)
Inheritance is a growing force in UK inequality, but not in the way headlines usually suggest. The Institute for Fiscal Studies projects inherited wealth will be worth about 16% of lifetime income for people born in the 1980s, up from about 9% for the 1960s-born. Its most important finding is a paradox: inheritances will do little to standard measures of income inequality, yet much to social mobility, hardening the link between parental wealth and a person's own position. For the 1980s-born with the poorest parents, inheritance is projected to raise the chance of staying in the poorest fifth from 40% to 48%. Receipt is skewed to the already-advantaged: the richest fifth are twice as likely to inherit significantly as the poorest (Resolution Foundation). Meanwhile inheritance tax reaches only 4.72% of UK deaths (HMRC), and its most valuable relief is highly concentrated among the largest estates.
Five suggested headlines
- Inheritance now worth 16% of lifetime income for the 1980s generation, up from 9%
- The inheritance paradox: little effect on inequality, large effect on who gets stuck
- Britain's inheritance windfall reaches fewer than one in three, and mostly the well-off
- Poorest-background children twice as likely to stay poor once inheritance is counted
- Only 4.72% of UK deaths pay inheritance tax, and its top relief is highly concentrated
Frequently asked questions
Does inheritance increase inequality in the UK?
The evidence is nuanced. The IFS projects that inheritances will do little to standard measures of relative income inequality, such as the lifetime-income Gini, because those depend on the relative size of resources. At the same time, inheritances are projected to reduce social mobility by tying people's positions more strongly to their parents' wealth (Institute for Fiscal Studies, Report R188, Great Britain). The two findings must be kept separate.
How much is an inheritance worth relative to a lifetime's income?
The median inheritance is projected to be worth about 8.7% of household lifetime net income for people born in the 1960s, rising to about 16% for those born in the 1980s (IFS Report R188, Great Britain). Inherited wealth is therefore becoming a larger determinant of lifetime living standards for younger generations, though these are projections dependent on future asset prices.
Do wealthier families benefit more from inheritance?
Yes. For people born in the 1960s, inheritance is projected to raise lifetime income by about 2% for those with parents in the poorest fifth against about 17% for the wealthiest fifth; for the 1980s-born the gap widens to about 5% against 29% (IFS Report R188, Great Britain). The size of an inheritance tracks parental wealth, so the uplift is far larger for those who already started ahead.
What share of people actually receive an inheritance?
Fewer than one in three people (32%) have benefited or expect to benefit from an inheritance or gift in their lifetime, according to the Resolution Foundation's 2022 survey of 8,749 UK adults. The richest fifth of earners are about twice as likely to receive a significant transfer as the poorest fifth, at about 50% against 25% (Resolution Foundation, UK).
How does inheritance affect social mobility?
Among the 1980s-born whose parents are in the poorest fifth, inheritance is projected to raise the share who remain in the poorest fifth by lifetime income from 40% to 48%, roughly twice the effect projected for the 1960s-born, from 38% to 41% (IFS Report R188, Great Britain). As inheritances grow, those from poorer backgrounds have more ground to make up through their own earnings.
When do most people receive an inheritance?
The typical age at which today's 20 to 35 year-olds are projected to receive an inheritance is about 61 (Resolution Foundation, UK). Because inheritances arrive relatively late, they do little for the life stages, such as first-time home ownership in one's twenties and thirties, when money tends to be scarcest.
How concentrated is wealth before it is inherited?
In Great Britain in April 2020 to March 2022, the wealthiest 1% of households held about 10% of all household wealth, the same share as the least wealthy 50% combined, with a wealth Gini coefficient of 0.59 (ONS, Household total wealth in Great Britain). Because inheritance broadly follows this distribution, it tends to reproduce existing concentration.
Does inheritance tax reduce inheritance inequality?
Only modestly. Inheritance tax fell on 4.72% of UK deaths in 2023-24 (HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics), so most estates pass untaxed. Its most valuable relief is concentrated among a small number of large estates: 3% of business property relief claimants accounted for 50% of the relief's value in 2023-24 (HMRC, UK).
Is inheritance becoming more important for younger generations?
Yes. The share of people expecting to inherit rose from 72% of those born in the 1960s to 81% of those born in the 1980s, and average inheritances relative to lifetime income for the 1980s-born are projected to be almost double those of the 1960s-born (IFS Report R188, Great Britain). Inheritances are projected to account for around a third of the inequality in lifetime living standards by parental background for the 1980s-born.
Are these figures official statistics?
The tax and wealth figures from HMRC, ONS and the OBR are official statistics or forecasts, though the ONS wealth survey lost its accredited status in June 2025. The IFS and Resolution Foundation figures are independent research projections and survey estimates, not official statistics, and should be cited as modelled or survey-based with their source and date attached.
Related reading: our UK wealth inequality briefing, the UK great wealth transfer model, our estate planning guide, and Inheritance Tax explained.