Research released by Legacy Futures in the first quarter of this year revealed stark differences across generation cohorts in wealth, the age at which people reach life milestones, and their attitude towards legacy giving.

Boomers (born 1945-1964) are 50 percent wealthier than the previous generation at their age — one of the reasons why 14 percent of Boomers have a charitable will. In fact, UK legacy income is predicted to grow to £6.5b by 2060, due mainly to the increased rate of Boomer deaths that will happen in that time.

New challenges for fundraisers

By 2050, however, Gen X (born 1965-1980) will account for 40 percent of deaths and, according to the research, their wealth, life experiences and diversity, pose fundraisers with a very different set of challenges.

First, Gen X are less likely to have made a will than Boomers were at the same age. One of the reasons for this could be that they’re generally hitting life milestones, such as having children and buying a house, at an older age than their parents. A knock-on effect of delaying traditional adult milestones is that certain commitments, such as writing a will and making legacy decisions, wait until later.

Another key reason for putting off charitable bequests is the uncertainty caused by the cost-of-living crisis, the Covid pandemic, and global instability over the last 5-10 years. Key decisions, such as where to leave one’s wealth, are being put on the back burner until things ‘feel more settled’.

Plus, there’s the pressures of being part of the ‘sandwich generation’. Gen X are more likely to be juggling the demands of teenage children and ageing parents than previous generations. This pulls on their time and resources leaves many Gen Xers focusing on the here and now with little bandwidth for a tomorrow they can’t predict and rarely have the time to contemplate.

The next generation of philanthropists

While the research pointed to this all being true, it also presented an optimistic angle — that, despite all this, Gen X still possesses significant wealth and has the potential to become the next generation of philanthropists. But to tap into the opportunity, fundraisers will need to be savvy to the differences between Gen X and the lifestyles and attitudes of their parents before them.

Despite the media often reporting the contrary, Gen Xers aged 50-54 appear to be similarly wealthy to Boomers when they were the same age. There is also a greater polarisation of wealth among Gen X, with the top quarter of these households owning 70 percent of wealth (compared to 65 percent for Boomers). Whilst this is not good for wider society, it is positive for legacies, as it shows Gen X holds significant wealth, and this increases the chance of a charitable gift left in a will.

Only 14 percent of female Boomers are child-free. This is versus 18 percent of Gen X. And we know that being child-free is a key driver of legacy giving. This should be an important consideration for charities whose supporters won’t all have automatic beneficiaries and may be seeking ways in which they can do good and their legacy can live on.

The importance of recognising diversity

Gen X is also far more diverse as a cohort, in terms of ethnicity, religion and sexuality. A far lower percentage of Gen X identify as Christian (46 percent) compared with Boomers (67 percent), and a higher percentage describe themselves as Muslim (6.1 percent Gen X versus 2.1 percent of core Boomers) or of no religion (37 percent Gen X vs 22 percent of Core Boomers).

Gen X are considerably more ethnically diverse too, with almost 1 in 5 Gen Xers belonging to a Black, Asian, mixed or other ethnic group according to the 2021 census data. This is an increase of 130 percent from the oldest Boomers, with just 1 in 12 core Boomers identifying as belonging to a non-white ethnic group.

This diversity will have a huge effect on attitudes towards philanthropy, yet remains an area in need of further exploration.

The time to act is now

Currently, only 31 percent of Gen X have a will in place compared to 67 percent of Boomers, and only 6 percent of those Gen X wills contain a charitable gift, compared with 14 percent of Boomers’ Wills.

For the future of legacy giving and philanthropy, charities need to start engaging with Gen X now, just as they started to engage with Boomers 10-15 years ago. Relations must be built and nurtured, supporters need to be inspired and excited by an organisation’s work, and they must be helped to understand what impact and change their generosity can bring about.

Anna Turner is the Head of Research and Insight at Legacy Futures