2022 record-breaking year for legacy income in England & Wales
Melanie May | 20 April 2023 | News
Reported legacy income reached £3.3bn last year in England and Wales, according to the latest Smee & Ford data, with total legacy income estimated to have risen to around £3.7bn.
The increase in reported legacy income, from organisations providing this data to the Charity Commission, was a 13.2% increase on the previous year’s £2.9bn. These organisations represent the largest legacy recipients in the country and receive at least £500k of total annual income.
According to Smee & Ford’s Legacy Trends Report 2023, for charities that do not report legacy income with the Charity Commission (those with a total income under £500k), its calculations show that legacy income was worth £447mn in 2022. This is significantly higher than in previous years, indicating that more legacy income is being distributed to charities with lower total annual income.
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Combining these figures, Smee & Ford estimates that total legacy income to charities increased to around £3.7bn in 2022 – the largest total it has ever recorded.
Charitable estates
The value of charitable estates also rose – from £19.9bn in 2021 to £21.bn in 2022. This is a 7% growth and the first time values have exceeded £20bn.
Growth in estate values translates to growth in the values of residual bequests. In recent years, Smee & Ford has seen growth in the average value of charitable estates, from £496k in 2017 to £576k in 2022. Over the past year, the average value of a charitable estate has increased by 8%.
Polly Avgherinos, Managing Director at Smee & Ford, said:
“It is encouraging to see total legacy income for charities reach a record high in 2022, as well as a new milestone reached for the value of charitable estates. We hope that legacies will remain resilient in the face of the current economic climate, and remain committed to supporting the sector with valuable market insight throughout this year and beyond.”
More findings
- Smee & Ford identified 37,053 charitable estates out of a total of 269,699 estates processed in 2022 that included a Will; meaning around 14% of probated estates with Wills are charitable.
- In 2022 there were 10,627 unique charitable organisations mentioned in Wills, the second highest we have recorded over the past decade.
- 37.1% of charitable Wills contained just one named charity and 21.7% contained 2 charities. The highest number of charities named in one Will in 2022 was 79.
- There were 37,053 charitable estates in 2022, nearly the same number as reported last year.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.