What does the future hold for legacy giving?

[HEADING INTO THE final month of 2021, legacy professionals were naturally reflecting on what has been learnt this year – and are looking ahead to 2022. Everyone had high hopes for 2021, and although for many things have returned to some sort of normality, it has continued to be quite turbulent. That has impacted on charities, their staff and the UK legacy market more generally.

Helping to answer some of those questions, in November Legacy Foresight issued its prognosis for the coming year, coupled with an analysis of the past 12 months.

In a benchmarking report, The Legacy Market 2021 and beyond, Legacy Foresight found that legacy gifts provided a vital source of income for charities during these extraordinary times. They offered three key highlights for all charities, whatever cause or size, to take away and consider into 2022:

In 2020 total UK legacy income was worth £3bn, while across the five years from 2016 to 2020 UK charities received a total of £16bn from gifts in wills. Over the next five years legacy income is expected to total £19.6bn, climbing to £23bn over the five years 2026 – 2030. By 2030 UK charities will receive £5bn per annum in legacy income from 146,000 charitable bequests.

Gifts in wills teams will know that over the past two years they have had to operate in unprecedented circumstances: firstly due to the problems at the probate courts causing significant delays in probate approvals; secondly because of the impact of the pandemic and the many shockwaves that sent.

Lower probate approvals have meant fewer legacy notifications. The report’s authors estimate that there was a 6% shortfall in bequest numbers in 2019, followed by a further 18% shortfall in 2020. Those notifications will be processed eventually, and charities need to be prepared to manage the probable increase in bequests that will need to be processed. That is likely to impact on the largest to the smallest of charities; everyone needs to be aware and prepare.

The increase in notifications and administrative challenges are not only going to affect the biggest legacy brands. More specialised, often more local, causes are gaining market share in the legacy sector. The fastest growing sectors over the past 10 years have been air ambulances and wildlife trusts, with arts and education charities, NHS hospitals and mental health charities also gaining ground.

With the average residual bequest worth £50,900 and the average pecuniary worth of £3,400, legacy gifts could transform smaller charities’ income. They should invest now to benefit from this potential significant income stream.

To find out more about how your charity can join the Legacy Monitor Programme for 2022, contact Richard Hill at r.hill@legacyforesight.co.uk or download their brochure from www.legacyforesight.co.uk. q

[CHOOSING TO LEAVE the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSEng) a legacy in your will can have a direct impact on the future of surgery and on the patients who receive it. Legacies have enabled the college to purchase essential equipment and support a wide range of projects in surgical education and research.

A one-year research fellowship costs in the region of £65,000 and a recent bequest supported a neurosurgeon whose project is looking at measuring walking to improve care in myelopathy. Cervical myelopathy is a wasting disease of the neck that affects up to 5% of over 40-year olds and causes progressive disability.

Currently, patient care requires improvement because the assessments are not accurate enough to detect small changes and time treatment perfectly: treatment too early carries risks, but too late can leave people permanently disabled.

The research fellow and his team believe that detailed 3D analysis of walking will overcome this, and this project will test their theory. Longer-term, if proven correct, this analysis could be transferred to a patient's pocket using their mobile.

Since the RCSEng’s surgical fellowship scheme was founded in 1993 the number of high-calibre applications has doubled, and the college is unable to support 80% of applicants.

The college are always in need of more funding to enable projects that address the health challenges of modern society, supporting the development of pioneering ideas across the NHS. With each small success, the Royal College of Surgeons of England takes another step towards the next big breakthrough. q