Mark Pincher reviews the age at which individuals make their wills and identifies trends in charitable bequests by age and gender.

In order for legacy fundraisers to create effective targeted fundraising strategies, it is important to understand when people generally make their wills and the social and behavioural patterns of these groups, and to identify population trends such age at mortality. This article utilises the Smee & Ford database to investigate when people made their wills and how old they were when they did so. It also classifies them into the generational cohort they belong to and identifies when there will be a shift in the dominant cohort, which enables legacy fundraisers to adjust and re-target their marketing strategies.

Individuals born during certain periods of time can be grouped together into classifications known as generational cohorts, although the specific yearly cut-off dates for these classifications is an area of debate for academics and researchers. It can be assumed that the individual in these groups have witnessed similar experiences in their formative years, which in turn gives them similar behavioural characteristics. It is generally regarded that there are five generational cohorts spanning the last century, each with their particular characteristics and differing attitudes to giving. Figure 1 defines these groups, along with their year of birth and the number of charitable estates left by each group in 2008. The age of legators and the number of charitable estates left have been taken from the charitable wills read by Smee & Ford in 2008, which amounted to around 65 per cent of all people in the UK.

John Baguley defines each group and how they preferred to be contacted in his article ‘The Generation Game’ in Caritas Magazine, issue 13, December 2008. He suggests that the cohort known as Seniors, who are now elderly, dislike glossy literature or waste, preferring to be contacted by letter. Silent cohort FEA follows the Seniors, also preferring to be contacted by letter. They are described as quiet but industrious, they never fought in WW2 like the Seniors. Baby Boomers own 80 per cent of the country’s wealth. They require information and feedback on results from their gifts unlike the afore-mentioned cohorts and they prefer to be contacted via letter, phone or email. Generation X prefers to be contacted by email, internet or phone. Finally, Generation Y (or C), the youngest of the groups prefers mobile, internet or email mediums. This analysis clearly indicates that using different mediums of communication for different age groups is key to the success of fundraising campaigns.

Unsurprisingly, Figure 1 identifies that the Senior and Silent cohorts are financing the majority of legacy income to the sector; they collectively accounted for nearly 95 per cent of the total charitable will-making population in 2008. At the other end of the scale, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y accounted for less than 6 per cent of the population.

Population trends – what do they mean for legacy giving?
Current population projections made by the Office for National Statistics indicate that the population of the UK will increase from 61.4m to 65.6m, a growth of 0.7 per cent. These calculations are based on assumptions about future trends in fertility, mortality and migration. Changes in lifestyle and medical improvements increasing life expectancy can also be attributed to this increase. Figure 2 shows age at mortality for legators identified in wills during 2008. By using these current levels of mortality, it can be assumed that the Senior generation is not due to die out until around 2028 and the peak period for this group (i.e. the peak age of mortality, currently 87 years) runs from 1988 to 2011. This explains the current high volume of legators belonging to this generational cohort. If a similar exercise is applied to the Silent cohort, the peak period of charitable estates is due to start in 2012 and it will continue at least 2032 and is not due to die out until around 2050. The eldest of the Baby Boomers are currently around 64 years of age, which, according to figure 2, is the beginning of the period where the volume of legators starts to increase at a greater rate. Their contribution, measured by the proportion of the total number of legators they will represent, will be fairly constant until 2015 after which their contribution will increase year on year. Their period of contribution will peak around 2035 and will continue until 2070.

Trends by gender
Characteristics of population trends vary slightly between males and females, with females experiencing a greater life expectancy. Of the 509,090 UK deaths in 2008, 48 per cent were male and 52 per cent female. Smee & Ford research clearly shows the difference in life expectancy by gender. Figures 3 and 4 show a much greater number of females living over the age of 80 than males and they also indicate that the number of charitable legacies left in wills is greater for females than it is for males. The graphs also show the percentage of charitable wills made by age for each gender. For both groups the number of charitable estates increases with age suggesting that the longer a person lives the greater the likelihood they are to leave a charitable bequest in their will, although the extent of charitable will making is greater for females than for males. From the age of 60 to 90 the percentage of charitable wills increases from 6 per cent to 13 per cent for males but levels for females range from 9 per cent to 16 per cent. The percentage continues to increase after the age of 90.

Age at will making
An analysis of the Smee & Ford database identified the age of legators when they made their wills and the results are shown in figure 5. This analysis is based on 62 per cent of charitable wills made where the date the will was made and the age of the person were both recorded. In 2008, only 3.3 per cent of people made their wills before the age of 50, but after this age the number making wills increased with age and peaked between the ages of 78 to 85 showing that it is not until later life that people make the decision to prepare their wills. Nearly a quarter (24.6 per cent) made their wills either in their 50s or 60s, but nearly two thirds made their wills in their 70s or 80s, with the remaining 8.2 per cent drawing them up over the age of 90. This confirms that legacy fundraisers should aim to target much of their legacy communications at the Senior and Silent cohorts as these are the people most likely to be writing their wills. However, the younger cohorts should not be neglected as the earlier potential donors are engaged, the more likely they are to leave a legacy. There are many reasons why individuals choose to make their wills and leave charitable bequests. Individuals who do not have children are more likely to leave bequests. Government data shows that childlessness is on the increase, one in five women born in 1963 remained childless, compared to one in eight born in 1933. From these figures, it can be assumed that legacies will increase in number, from the Baby Boomers onwards. Individuals with children are less likely to leave a charitable bequest as providing for their children is their primary concern. The dynamics of the family is also changing, people tend to have children later in life with 20 per cent of babies born today having mothers aged 35 or older. This means that it is not until later in the life of the parent that they are willing to consider leaving a charitable bequest. Additionally, as people are living longer there is an increased need to financially provide for later life. Although longevity assumptions may vary across different employment sectors, the number of years people are expected to live after retirement age is increasing as a whole, which in turn delays the decision to leave a charitable bequest.