Legacy income sees slight drop in year to June 2017

Legacy income dropped slightly by 1.1% in the year to June 2017 but will continue to rise over the next five years albeit more slowly than in previous years, according to Legacy Foresight’s latest Legacy Bulletin. In the 12 months to June 2017 Legacy Foresight’s 83 Legacy Monitor Consortium members received £1.41billion in legacy income and 54,500 bequests: a 1.1% fall in total income compared to the same period last year. Consortium legacy income grew strongly in the first half of 2016 – climbing from £1.3billion to £1.4billion. However, since last summer, incomes have flattened off and now fallen slightly. Legacy Foresight attributes the decrease to ‘flagging house prices and jittery stock markets’, which it says appear to have affected average residual values. Its figures show that in the year to June 2017 average residual bequest values were £57,000: a fall of 3.7% on the record high of £59,100 in the year to June 2016 (the period leading up to the Brexit referendum). With commentators expecting the British economy to slow significantly over the next two to three years while the finer details of the Brexit deal are thrashed out, residual values are likely to be further dampened Legacy Foresight states. However, climbing death rates continue to boost legacy numbers, which rose by 3.2% in the past 12 months. These additional bequests will pay out over the next 18 months, helping to sustain overall legacy incomes, says Legacy Foresight. Its central market forecast suggests that legacy incomes will keep growing but more slowly than in recent years, rising by 2.7% p.a. over the next five years.

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