Is inheritance becoming part of your clients' retirement plans?

Five questions to help close the expectation gap

Published: 17 Aug 2026 4 mins read

Many clients may be making retirement plans based on an inheritance they have not discussed, confirmed or fully understood.

Aviva's Intergenerational Wealth Shift Report found that 32% of people expect inheritance to help fund their retirement, yet more than half of parents surveyed have not discussed their inheritance plans with their children.

This means an opportunity for advisers to help families turn assumptions into clearer conversations about wealth, expectations and long-term financial resilience.

Here we’ll cover five questions to help clients close the expectation gap.

1. What role could inheritance play?

Clients may have a clear view of their own retirement plans, but when it comes to what their beneficiaries are expecting, they might be less sure.

Consider asking if they’ve talked about their plans with the people who’ll eventually inherit their wealth.

The answer can help uncover assumptions, misunderstandings, or opportunities to plan with greater confidence.

It can also start conversations about how beneficiaries are building inheritance into their own financial plans.

2. What if inheritance arrives later than expected?

The research highlights a disconnect between what people expect in retirement and when they expect wealth to be passed on. Many people expect inheritance to support future financial security, but the timing and value of any inheritance are rarely guaranteed.

Clients may see inheritance as a way to support future generations, but beneficiaries may be planning around timelines that are outside their control.

Exploring different scenarios can help families reduce reliance on uncertain future events and build stronger financial resilience.

3. Could gifting earlier help?

For some families, providing support earlier may have more impact than waiting for wealth to pass through an estate.

Consider asking clients whether lifetime gifting would better support their family’s needs today. As clients think about their wider wealth transfer objectives, this will help them explore whether supporting their family during their lifetime better reflects what they want to achieve.

Lifetime gifting may also help families have more open conversations about wealth, provide support when it is most useful, and help future generations become financially resilient sooner.

4. Individual wealth or family wealth?

Financial planning has often focused on individual outcomes.

But advisers are increasingly supporting multiple generations of the same family.

A broader family-focused conversation about wealth can help clients consider:

intergenerational objectives
wealth transfer intentions
financial resilience across generations
potential future family needs.

In turn, this can help move the conversation beyond inheritance alone and towards a more joined-up view of the family financial plan.

5. Have expectations been discussed?

The research highlights a simple but important issue: 51% of families surveyed have not discussed their inheritance plans, even when future beneficiaries expect inheritance to play a role in their financial future.

Every family is different, but helping clients talk through intentions, priorities, and expectations can reduce uncertainty and support better-informed decisions.

Explore with your clients what they’d like their family to understand about their plans.

Closing the gap

Inheritance can play an important role in a family's financial future.

But assumptions are not a plan.

There’s a disconnect between the 32% of people relying on their inheritance for their own retirement plans and the 51% of families not discussing their inheritance plans.

This disconnect is why clients should be encouraged to engage in a holistic family financial planning discussion, to help close the gap between what people are relying on and what financial provisions are actually in place.

Advisers are uniquely positioned to start and support this conversation, which may otherwise not happen.

The most valuable outcome of the adviser's intervention may not simply be passing wealth on efficiently. It may help future generations feel better prepared, better informed and more financially resilient.