A quarter of Australians think they'll get property, money and personal items as part of an inheritance. But most don't want older people to put leaving an inheritance ahead of enjoying their retirement.
Most of those under 65 years old – 77% – think they will probably receive an inheritance of property, or cash or other assets.
The expectation on inheriting property or cash is highest for those aged 25-34 with 23% saying they will definitely get it.
More than three quarters of Australians agree older people should enjoy their retirement and not worry about leaving an inheritance.
More Australians disagree more than Britains – 15% to 5% – that disagree older people shouldn’t worry about leaving an inheritance.
Most Australians consider it probable that they will receive property, cash or other assets as an inheritance. 77 per cent of those aged under 65 say it’s a possibility and 20 per cent of those are certain they'll get one.
The young, those aged 25-34 - have the highest expectation of getting property or cash with 23 per cent of them saying they'll definitely get the inheritance and another 20 per cent thinking it’s very likely.
Out of three types of an inheritance - property, cash or other assets, and personal items such as jewellery and cars - 27 per cent expect it’s at least fairly likely they'll get all three, 21 per cent expect two of the three types and 17 per cent expect one.
While most people expect an inheritance, they agree older people should enjoy their retirement and not worry about leaving an inheritance. 39 per cent concur with the statement although when asked the same question, more people in Britain - 51% - agreed.
Australians did express more disagreement with the statement than those in Britain with 15 per cent Australians either disagreeing or strongly disagreeing, and only 5% of those in Britain.
While most Australians feel that older people should focus on enjoying retirement and not worry about leaving an inheritance support for this attitude is weaker in Australia than in Britain.
When broken down by age, the older and younger groups - aged 70+ and 18-40 - tend to agree or agree strongly that older people should be careful with their money so they should leave an inheritance. Those who are 40-69 have a lower level of support for that statement.
The biggest difference with those surveyed in Britain is that the younger groups - aged 18-50 - are in less agreement about older people leaving money behind.