'Living poor to die rich'? Or 'spending the kids' inheritance'? Attitudes to assets and inheritance in later life

Karen Rowlingson*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    35 Citations (Scopus)

    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. © 2006 Cambridge University Press.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)175-192
    Number of pages18
    JournalJournal of Social Policy
    Volume35
    Issue number2
    Early online date3 Mar 2006
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Apr 2006

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
    • Public Administration

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