Potentially over $100 trillion. There’s no denying the first two words of the now-unavoidable term “great wealth transfer.”
Yet the “transfer” part may not be as guaranteed, with a 2025 MDRT survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers representing four generations finding that 36% of respondents older than 60 don’t plan to pass down wealth — and of those who do, 63% aren’t working with a financial advisor.
“A lot of families aren’t talking about it because they don’t believe that there’s actually going to be wealth there to transfer,” said seven-year MDRT member Danielle Annette Lucht, RICP, CDFA, of the anticipated movement of at least several tens of trillions from baby boomers to succeeding generations in the U.S. by 2048. “Even clients who have $2 million or $3 million are concerned about rising taxes, how inflation will erode wealth and what will happen if $120,000 per year is needed for memory care, and most retirees don’t have a plan to cover medical expenses in retirement.
“How can we talk about transferring wealth if people don’t believe there’s going to be any wealth to transfer?”
Creating opportunities
For Lucht, who works with high-performing women and families in 27 states on “how to live a legacy while leaving a legacy,” the survey highlights how advisors can help older clients maximize their financial position while supporting younger generations now and after they’re gone.
For one client, it meant Lucht creating a comprehensive plan to keep pace with inflation and use dividends and interest to fund family trips.
As a result, the client, who initially felt financially insecure after her divorce, was able to take her family of 14 children and grandchildren on three expensive summer trips in the last six years.
“By teaching her how to use different income sources to cover living expenses and the trips, she knows she is able to do this, even without alimony,” Lucht said. “And the memories she is creating with her children and grandchildren are what she values most.”
Similarly, she advocates for creating segregated accounts with names like “vacation account,” “gifting account” or “birthday accounts,” as clients are more likely to dedicate money when it is given a purpose and a title. Otherwise, Lucht says, it can be easier for clients to put no effort toward planning, especially if clients are afraid of the price or effort required to build a relationship with estate planning attorneys.
Even if there is resistance, however, it is important to circle back once a year, Lucht adds.
“Markets change, personal relationships can change and opinions may change,” she said. “And that could be the reason why someone makes a change or starts to do an estate plan.”
Generational awareness
When it comes to a lack of planning, there may be a subtle, generational component at play as well, says David Carl Allen Jr., LUTCF.
“A lot of boomers didn’t want to skimp like they did growing up, living paycheck to paycheck, so they created so much wealth but haven’t done a lot to protect it,” said the eight-year MDRT member, noting many clients’ attitudes of “my parents didn’t leave anything behind, so I’m not worried about what I will.”
In fact, the MDRT survey found that while 82% of consumers older than 60 believe they have enough assets to justify having an estate plan, 21% of them have taken no action to create one.
For Allen, who focuses on risk management for 4,000 clients while his business partner, four-year MDRT member Timothy Bosworth, CFP, focuses on asset management and financial planning for 1,000, the priority is on clarifying the difference between action and inaction — like the client who has $1.3 million in an IRA and wasn’t concerned about moving money to any other place.
That is, until Allen described the situation as “a ticking time bomb” for his kids, who would pay 35% to 40% later unless he adjusts his portfolio and pays 20% to 25% now.
“OK,” the client said. “Tell me more.”
Yet Allen does see many from this generation putting money into assets like CDs and being reluctant to make helpful changes, such as putting money into life insurance that would pay out more. Only when a life event happens, it seems, do people feel a sense of urgency, he says.
“Then all of a sudden I get a call, ‘Hey, I know you’ve been after me; now I need you,’” Allen said. “‘My sister died; I realized she didn’t have her act together, and now I need to take action.”
Yet he’s also heard about clients who prefer not to plan because they think their kids will be getting more than they deserve. Allen will ask them why they wouldn’t want to make things better for their kids or grandkids in the long term, considering how much the clients hated paying taxes themselves. “I know I have enough and don’t want to fool with it,” some have replied.
Fortunately, Allen makes clear, reluctance is overall rare, and clients are more likely to act when they know what the numbers mean. For example: Rather than saying, “This annuity is costing you 1.4% in fees, and if you move it, it could cost 0.1%,” say, “This is costing you $13,000 in fees, and you could be paying only $100 to $400.”
“When they hear about keeping that much more money, they open up and will listen and make the right decision,” he said.
Otherwise, Allen adds, clients might assume that everything will work out on its own, or that advisors will magically make something happen regarding retirement that isn’t possible (like the 65-year-old couple who wanted to retire but didn’t have nearly enough money to do so).
“So many people have not done enough planning in general, so wealth transfer isn’t even on their radar,” he said. “Wealth transfer or not, without planning, they might not be able to do anything.”
Contact:
David Allen
afsdja@gmail.com
Danielle Lucht
dalucht@gmail.com
