‘Living Poor to Die Rich’? Or ‘Spending the Kids' Inheritance’? Attitudes to Assets and Inheritance in Later Life

Abstract

A significant, and probably increasing, proportion of older people are ‘asset rich, income poor’. This raises a number of social policy issues around poverty and living standards in later life. For example, perhaps older people are ‘living poor to die rich’ because they wish to pass on their assets to future generations or because they feel they have an ‘inalienable right’ to their property. Or perhaps they would like to use up their assets but find this difficult, for example, because of concerns around equity release products. This article focuses on attitudes to assets and inheritance, drawing on findings from in-depth interviews and focus groups. The data suggest that people generally take a balanced and pragmatic attitude to their resources. They do not wish to ‘live poor to die rich’ but nor are they keen to spend their resources recklessly as they wish to leave something to their families, while also maintaining a reasonable standard of living in later life. It concludes by suggesting that the current ‘asset-based welfare’ debate should broaden its focus on asset accumulation to consider issues around asset use.