Forget the lottery. Many young Canadians will hit the jackpot some day because they are lucky enough to have financially successful, frugal parents.
A report by Decima Research says almost $1 trillion in cash and other assets will be transferred from seniors to their offspring in the years to come.
"The economic growth experienced by Canada in recent decades has made the baby-boom generation the most affluent generation in the country's history," says Dan Kirkland of Decima.
"Seniors and boomers have accumulated unprecedented levels of wealth that will be transferred to their children."
A poll of 2,256 adults, conducted last summer and released Tuesday, indicated that about one-third of Canadians have received an inheritance, worth on average about $56,000. Most of that has been in cash.
For the 54 per cent who are expecting an inheritance in the future, Decima says they will realize a windfall about five times the amount of past inheritances, or $283,000 on average, half in cash and the rest in real estate and other valuables.
In all, Decima says 71 per cent of Canadians plan to leave an inheritance.
With about $1 trillion in the mix, Mr. Kirkland said inheritances from the huge postwar generation will become a very important part of both personal financial planning and national investment and economic activity.
Asked in the survey what they would do if they inherited $500,000, not an unreasonable expectation from the current estimates, Canadians said they would save or invest $335,000 and spend the rest.
But even the "spending" betrays a frugal streak. About 40 per cent of respondents said their spending would go to reducing home mortgages or other debt, while others said they would buy a new or second home, or spend on renovations or travel.
If there is one worry among Canadians expecting an inheritance, it's that the tax department will also be waiting with a hand out. Three in 10 named taxes as the chief threat to their inheritance.
Despite the large amounts Canadians can expect to inherit, only seven per cent have sought professional advice on investing or tax shelters.
As well, half of small-business owners have not made a succession plan for their enterprises - and of those that have, most have done so without professional assistance.
"There seems to be a pretty limited amount of financial planning going on," said Mr. Kirkland. "This may have been less of a problem in the past, but the size of the wealth transfer predicted makes it a larger personal, market and policy imperative."
Decima said a survey sample of this size is considered accurate within 2.2 percentage points, 95 per cent of the time.
16:10ET 10-04-07