Legacy giving has remained “resilient” after a decrease in total income proved “more modest than initially predicted”, new research has revealed.
The Legacy Giving Report 2026, published by Legacy Futures and Smee & Ford, shows that total legacy income reached an estimated £4.4bn in 2025, while charitable estates remained the second highest on record, just behind 2025’s record level of 44,000.
Despite an anticipated drop following 2024’s “exceptional” peak of £4.6bn as a probate backlog cleared, the research finds the legacy market had proved unexpectedly resilient, with probate output remaining stronger than predicted during 2025.
Charitable estates representing 17% of all estates at probate
During 2025, 43,485 charitable estates cleared probate, representing just over 17% of all estates at probate.
The research says an estimated total of 104,000 charitable bequests were made in 2025, an 11% drop on 2024, following the clearing of the probate backlog.
Of these, 41,000 were residual bequests, where a person leaves a proportion of their estate, while 60,000 were pecuniary, where someone leaves a specified cash value.
Almost 3,000 were effects bequests, where someone leaves a specific item to charity.
Average gift values reached £44,000 overall, with residual gifts averaging £98,000 while pecuniary gifts averaged £6,100.
Health charities still largest recipients
Health charities remained the recipients of the largest number of charitable gifts, accounting for 34% of legacy income – although this was a 5% drop from 2024.
Meanwhile, animal and development charities had the fastest income growth rate across five years, at 8.6% and 7.7% respectively.
Health and disability charities followed, with each achieving a five-year growth rate of just over 6%.
Armed forces and children’s charities saw a slower growth of up to 2% annually.
Regionally, the south east, south west and London together accounted for 44% of all legacy giving.
Legacy income forecast to reach £5bn by 2029
The report notes emerging long-term challenges related to fewer people – especially younger ones – giving to charity. But it forecasts that legacy income will grow to £5bn by 2029 and £10bn by 2046, equating to £6.7bn in real terms after adjusting for inflation.
This rise will be driven primarily by a “significant increase in deaths” as the large cohort of baby boomers reaches later life, it says.
Ashley Rowthorn, executive director at Legacy Futures and Smee & Ford, said: “This year’s report highlights both stability in the present and uncertainty ahead.
“Legacy income remains a cornerstone of charity funding, and the outlook is positive in the medium term, with steady growth forecast over the next decade.
“However, the decisions that will shape legacy income in the 2030s and beyond are being made today.”
Claire Routley, consultancy director at Legacy Futures, added: “Legacy giving continues to show remarkable resilience, even as charities face wider economic and societal pressures.
“What stands out in this year’s data is the strength of the underlying market, with income, estate numbers and gift values all holding up well despite an anticipated correction.
“But the report also makes clear that future growth cannot be taken for granted.
“Charities need to understand who their supporters are, how motivations are evolving, and how to build lasting relationships that translate into long-term support through gifts in wills.”
