HSBC survey finds Australians plan to leave biggest bequests Tori Spelling, a star of the original Beverly Hills 90210, was famously cut out of the $500m fortune left by her father, powerful Hollywood producer Aaron Spelling. AUSTRALIANS plan to leave their families bequests that are more valuable than those in any other country, according to a global survey by HSBC. The Future of Retirement report said that 69 per cent of Australian retirees planned to leave an inheritance and that its average value was $US501,919, which is more than four times the global average of US$148,205. The nearest total in value was Singapore, where 70 per cent of retirees planned to leave assets for their families but the average value of those assets was just over $US370,000. And the two countries most commonly compared with Australia, the UK and the US, produced relatively miserable figures. Some 64 per cent of UK retirees planned to leave assets but they averaged $US284,145 in value and in the US, only 56 per cent of retirees expected to leave assets and when they did, they were worth an average of $US176,814. The report, which surveyed 1000 Australians out of a global sample of 16,000 people in 15 countries, made it clear that the apparent richness of Australian bequests had a downside in that many Australians relied on future bequests rather than focus on their own retirement planning. HSBC Australia's head of retail banking and wealth management Graham Heunis credited this to Australia's unbroken 22 recent years of economic prosperity. "Over the past decade Australian household wealth has grown 7.6 per cent a year, making us one of the richest nations per capita globally, allowing retirees to provide their children a significant financial legacy," he said. The Australian numbers also reflected comparatively high Australian house prices, as the calculation of household wealth includes the family home. Mr Heunis said local numbers were also relatively higher than other countries because "In markets like the UK and US, inheritance and estate tax may cost heirs upwards of 40 per cent of an inheritance." He said that meant "retirees are inclined to give financial gifts throughout their life to pay for their children's major life events like an education, mortgage or marriage rather than a lump sum endowment." "With no inheritance tax in Australia, it's no surprise the value and proportion of inheritance among Australian retirees is exponentially higher than the rest of the world," he said. The report found that half of working Australians said their future inheritance would partially finance their own retirement, while 14 per cent would rely largely on this income. Mr Heunis warned of the risks of over-relying on inheritance, adding that "inheritance is often split between family members or may be eroded by children needing to pay their parents' debts such as mortgages, medical or aged care needs." "This highlights that working-age Australians need to continue preparing and saving to ensure their own financial security in retirement, and to treat any inheritance as a bonus," he said.