ONS: Half of inheritors receive £10k or less By Ed Monk Generation game: Windfalls from inheritance may fall as old people face higher care costs and prefer to gift cash to children earlier. Those dreaming of a juicy inheritance to fund their retirement may need to think again after official data confirmed most beneficiaries receive £10,000 or less - with windfalls set to fall further in the future. The Office for National Statistics took a snapshot of how we inherit by asking a representative sample of the population whether or not they had received an inheritance during a two-year period between 2008 and 2010. The results showed 3.6 per cent had received some inheritance in the period, collectively scooping £75billion. However, £57billion of this - or 76 per cent - went to just a fifth of recipients with these lucky few receiving average windfalls of £125,000 each. Half of inheritors received less than £10,000. The inheritance data is the first of its kind, so historical comparisons are not possible. However, the ONS said there were reasons to suspect that inheritances would fall in value in the future as people live longer and need to spend more of their own money in their old age. The ONS report said: 'There are significant costs associated with living longer, whether to maintain a reasonable standard of living, or to pay for care bills. These financial pressures come during a time where incomes are likely to be lower than during working life. Such expenses are likely to diminish, if not exhaust assets which might traditionally have been passed onto others. Statisticians also said individuals would reduce the sums they leave after their death by gifting more during their life. Parents and grandparents helping children to buy relatively more expensive houses, and gifting money to avoid inheritance tax, would reduce inheritances on death, they said. Inherent advantage: Sums of inheritance received. One factor pushing overall numbers inheriting higher is increased home ownership. The ONS survey showed individuals whose parents rented their main residence were less likely to receive an inheritance compared with those whose parents owned their home, even if this was with a mortgage. Homeownership has been steadily rising through the last century, reaching a peak of 69 per cent of UK households in 2001. This means there should be more high value estate passed on in the future - although homeownership has begun to fall again, and currently stands at about 63 per cent. Almost half of inheritances came from a parent or parent in law, whilst just over a fifth came from grandparents. A large number of inheritances, just over one in ten, were received from an uncle or aunt. One in 20 inheritors received assets from a non-relative like a friend or neighbour. Mean returns: The distribution of inherited assets by quintile. Nearly nine in every ten inheritances were made up of cash savings. Just under one in five included property or land, one in eight included personal possessions and a further 6.5 per cent included stocks or shares. Women were more likely to have inherited as a result of their longer life expectancy that means they out live their husbands, and so are more likely to inherit from their spouse. Home truths: How home ownership has changed over the last century.