We’ve all heard the story: UK Baby Boomers are sitting on more than £5 trillion in wealth and, over the next 20-30 years, they will pass this wealth down to their Millennial and Gen Z children and grandchildren. The biggest intergenerational wealth transfer in history is about to happen. A financial reset. In this blog, Sarah Turner, CEO and co-founder of Angel Academe, the UK-based angel network that has been investing in women leaders for over 10 years & Angel Academe member, J. Penney Frohling, highlight why this is now an inflection point for everyone in the pensions, wealth, savings and investments space.
It’s a compelling narrative, but it’s deeply misleading. The so-called “Great Wealth Transfer” is likely to be more like a trickle than a wave for the vast majority of the UK population. And late Boomers and Gen X stand between Millennials and Zoomers, who will have several decades to wait before this wealth finally passes to them. Yes, intergenerational, but. . .
The average age at which someone receives an inheritance currently is 61 . This means that the great “wave” of wealth is being transferred to many who are approaching retirement and have a very different set of financial decisions to make than Millennials and Zoomers, who will be focusing on property, children, career etc. The Office of Fiscal Studies estimates that some individuals born post 1980 could be waiting until they are 70 for a portion of their parents’ estate to pass to them.
Property wealth is overestimated
Approximately 45% of total UK net wealth, £5.6trillion (source: Ethos Atlas June 2025), is in property. The majority of this is the house that people live in. While house prices have soared, property is not liquid and has become increasingly less so as interest rates have gone up, prices increased and stamp duty has reduced the appeal of downsizing. Many have learned the hard way that property values are not a one way street, being caught out by high maintenance costs, reversals in demand for “up and coming” neighbourhoods that didn’t, and inheritance tax, as thresholds have failed to keep pace with rising house prices. With so many mass market households dependent on their property to help fund their retirement, it is inevitable that we will see an acceleration in the uptake of equity release mortgages (and the subsequent erosion of the value of the family home as it is eaten away by accrued interest payments), particularly now that interest rates are coming down.
Wealth is concentrated
Of the £1.7 trillion in investment wealth held by households over 65 — around 30% of the UK’s total liquid wealth — affluent and high-net-worth households account for 70% (£1.2trillion) of the total. (source: Ethos Partners Atlas, June 2025). About 1 million out of the UK’s total 28 million households. The median inheritance for the typical 61 year old is £33K according to figures published by HMRC and the ONS. So, we’re more in trickle than wave territory for your average household. This trickle is likely to reduce further as the current government’s new taxation policy on pension assets comes into effect.
Less to Go Around as Boomers Live Longer and Spend More
Not only are boomers in better health, but they’re often spending their wealth rather than passing it on to the next generation. 75% of respondents in a recent Just Group survey said they intended to enjoy their retirement – leaving money to their kids was not a priority. If they aren’t blessed with good health, care costs can quickly erode a potential inheritance.
Gen X and Millennials Can’t Depend on Parent’s Wealth
The idea of a massive wealth transfer between Boomers and generations who have grown up on mobile phones and social media makes for compelling headlines. However, the numbers indicate that this is more rhetoric than reality.
Millennials and Zoomers are facing significant challenges to building wealth. Even high earners. Headwinds from low wage growth, high inflation, high marginal tax rates, rescinding of child care benefits, high borrowing rates and high property prices. It will be extremely challenging, if not impossible, for the majority in these generations to accumulate assets at the pace of their parents and grandparents. So a great asset shift and rebalancing will be critical. But it will be gradual. And most will have to wait until they are almost in retirement for it to happen.
Serving more Women
Millennials and Zoomers will need to choose their employers wisely; take advantage of every matching pension contribution and equity plan they can; and be relentless in maximising net cash flow. They need to build something of their own by investing now and taking risks early.
But the bigger adjustment will be the “feminisation” of UK wealth. Many of these women had successful careers, continue to work at senior levels and have accumulated wealth of their own. There’s a huge opportunity to serve a vibrant segment that has traditionally been under-represented and misunderstood by the financial services sector.
By Sarah Turner, CEO and co-founder of Angel Academe, the UK-based angel network that has been investing in women leaders for over 10 years & Angel Academe member, J. Penney Frohling
