There is a strong connection between in-memory donations and legacy giving, a report from legacy consortium Legacy Foresight has found.
Legacy Foresight put together data from 22 charities which take part in its In Memory Insight research initiative. In-memory giving is where people donate to a charity in the name of someone who has died, whereas legacy giving is when people leave an amount to charity in their wills.
The consortium found that people who have previously given in-memory are three times more likely to include to the same charity in their wills, compared to regular donors who give via direct debit or standing order. In-memory donors also tend to pledge higher amounts – on average, their residual legacy donations are two-third higher than those left by other donors. Legacy Insight surveyed 4,000 adults on in-memory and legacy giving.
Three in five respondents who have included an in-memory donation in their will had previously given in-memory to the same charity, usually at or after a funeral. The survey also looked at the role that in-memory legacies play in the overall landscape of legacy giving. It found that two in five legacy donors had at least one in-memory gift in their will. See more.
A Legacy Foresight study says donations given in memory of loved ones are a good indicator that someone will leave a legacy gift.
People who have previously given donations in memory of loved ones are three times more likely than regular donors to leave legacies to the same charities in their own wills, new research shows.
The legacy consortium Legacy Foresight studied benchmarking data from 22 of its member charities and found that in-memory gifts were a good predictor of whether someone would leave a legacy gift.
A supporter with known in-memory connections was found to be three times more likely to pledge a legacy to the charity than a standard regular donor giving via direct debit.
The research found that the average value of a residual legacy for a known in-memory supporter was two-thirds higher than for a supporter with no known in-memory connection, and pecuniary legacies were twice the average left by those who had no in-memory connection.
A survey of 4,000 adults that was also carried out as part of the research found that two out of five legacy donors had included at least one gift in their own wills in memory of someone else and, of those who did, three out of five had previously given in-memory gifts to charities.
Article in full, here.
People who have given in memory are three times more likely to make a legacy pledge according to research carried out by Legacy Foresight for its In-Memory Insight programme.
Benchmarking data from 22 learning circle member charities revealed that supporters with a known in-memory connection were three times more likely to pledge a legacy to the charity – and twice as likely to be legacy prospects – than standard regular donors giving via direct debit or standing order.
Legators who had a known in-memory connection to the charity also left bequests of significantly higher value. The average value of a residual legacy for a known in-memory supporter was two thirds higher than for a supporter with no known in-memory connection. For pecuniary legacies, former in-memory supporters left double the amount.
Further data from surveys covering 4,000 adults revealed that a high proportion of legacy donors (2 in 5) had at least one in-memory gift in their will and that 3 out of 5 in-memory legacies had been preceded by in-memory support of a charity. Donations had often been made at or after a funeral – some were of substantial value.
Figures for 2019 Q3 from Legacy Foresight’s Legacy Monitor show bequest numbers are down by 8% year on year, across the consortium of 80 member charities.
The analysis shows that the majority (6%) of this decline is due to the impact of delays at HM Courts & Tribunal Service, caused by the transition to the new probate service, once long-term trends and changes to the numbers of deaths have been taken into account.
Chris Farmelo, Legacy Foresight‘s Technical Director, said:
“Ongoing delays caused by the introduction of the new structure and processes at HMCTS have been affecting legacy income and bequest figures for the past 9 months, which we’ve highlighted in Legacy Monitor quarterly bulletins throughout the year.
“Once the backlog is cleared, charities can expect a significant boost to bequest numbers to compensate for the shortfall in bequests experienced this year. For Legacy Monitor Consortium members specifically, who make up over 50% of the legacy market overall, this increase looks to be substantial; estimated at around 24% higher in October to December than would otherwise have been the case.
Bequest notifications to charities were down by 8 per cent year on year in the third quarter of 2019, according to new data from Legacy Foresight.
The company that provides insights into the UK legacy market revealed the figure in its latest Legacy Monitor quarterly bulletin, which was published last week.
The bulletin, which is based on information provided by a consortium of 80 charities, attributes about three-quarters of the 8 per cent decline to continuing delays in changes to the probate service, such as the closure of regional offices and the implementation of a new IT system.
But the situation appears to be easing: bequest notifications were 24 per cent down year on year in the second quarter, with about three-quarters of this attributed to the delays. And charities can expect to see strong year-on-year growth of 24 per cent in the final quarter as the delays are resolved.
The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) on ‘Families and Households in the UK: 2019’ make insightful reading for the Wills community which highlights the changing trends in Brits’ living arrangements, including families.
The most interesting factors emerging from the latest Families and Households in the UK which could impact on the Wills sector are multi-family households (consisting of two or more families) is the fastest growing household type over the last two decades to 2019.
Furthermore, over the last 10 years the proportion of families containing a cohabiting couple increased from 15.3% to 18.4%.
In addition, same-sex families are up by 40% since 2015, plus the number of people living alone has increased by a fifth over the last 20 years.
Looking at the statistics, we asked professionals in the industry to give their views on how changing household composition could impact on Will making.
Legal technology within the Wills and Probate industry has evolved and is now transforming the world of legacy giving.
With technology changing the way the world communicates, its impact on business has been huge, fast-moving and continues to grow.
Those who work with Wills have started to see legal technology as a game-changer which can act as a driving force for increased efficiency and profitability.
It is only a relatively short space of time where those who draft Wills would have previously relied on simplistic software and written notes or paper instructions.
But the legal sector is now catching up to what clients expect with more and more firms/businesses looking at new systems so they can be more efficient. Using new technology has allowed businesses to grow, provides a much better service, saves time and in turn increases their revenue.
Those firms which have adopted legal tech in their will-making processes are revolutionising the face of legacy giving. Of course, there are other factors in play but essentially, new technology makes the process simpler, more efficient and cost-effective.
According to a recent report launched by the leading analysts of legacy fundraising, Legacy Foresight, predicts that Legacy and in-memory donations to UK charities will be worth twice as much in real terms in 25 years’ time, reaching £10 billion by 2045. This is largely due to more deaths, more will-making and a higher proportion of people leaving bequests.
Other than reducing IHT, the top charitable bequest motives are a desire to support a charity and the ultimate use of the gift by the charity, according to Legacy Voice and University of Plymouth’s Legacy Giving 2018 report. Interestingly, findings from the report cited the most significant changes in donor motivation was the increase in influence of professional advisors. A similar study was conducted in 1992 which found only 4% of participants had confirmed that a legal professional had suggested a bequest, but the figure climbed to 21% in 2000.The report suggested that by 2017 this figure would have crept up even higher.
Legacy income for charities is set to rise by 4% over the next five years with charities set to receive legacy increases in excess of £650 million.
Unfortunately, this increase in legacy income also coincides with a fall in life expectancy, according to recent death projections forecast by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The new report suggests that life expectancy is currently slowing for both men and women since 2011 following decades of consistent improvements.
This will lead to a noticeable rise in the number of projected deaths. ONS predictions estimate that 3.1 million people will die in the UK during the next five years up to 2024.
When compared with the last forecast prediction made in 2017 of 3 million deaths, it signifies that declining life expectancy rates could indicate a further 123,000 additional deaths not estimated in previous reports.
In terms of charitable legacies over the next five years, this could signify an increase of 4.1% or £650 million.
Legacy foresight has estimate that this could mean 26,000 additional people will die per year, each leaving an average legacy of £25,000, leading to an annual legacy income increase of £130 million.
Meg Abdy, Development Director at Legacy Foresight, says:
“Death rates are one of key factors that determine the number and size of bequests charities can expect to receive. In the short to medium term these new projections will boost charity income, especially among larger charities.”
“It’s important to remember that although improvements in life expectancy are not as optimistic as previously thought, people will still live longer on average than they do today. By 2050 1.5 million people will be aged 90 or over. This may be lower than the 1.8 million predicted back in 2016, but it’s still more than double the 600,000 we see today.”