Inheritances have not increased wealth inequality among older households

Inheritances and large gifts received by English individuals born between the 1920s and 1950s do not appear to have increased the degree of inequality in their wealth holdings. The already wealthy do receive much bigger inheritances than the less wealthy, but what they receive is smaller relative to their other wealth holdings. So the effect is not to increase the overall level of wealth inequality. This is the main finding of new IFS research, published today as part of English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) Wave 6 Report, and funded by the IFS Retirement Saving Consortium with support from the Economic and Social Research Council. ELSA is funded by the National Institute of Aging in the US and a consortium of UK government departments.