More than a quarter of over-40s say they will leave money to good causes in their wills.

Record numbers of people say they have written a gift to charity into their will or are preparing to do so, according to a new study.

The survey, for legacy giving consortium Remember a Charity, revealed 17% of people aged 40 and over have included a charity in their will and another 10% said they planned to do so.

These figures mean more than a quarter (27%) of people in this age group plan to leave money to good causes, up from 21% a decade ago.

Just 9% of donors actively rejected the concept of leaving a legacy, down from 12% in 2010, while the number of people unaware of legacy giving has fallen from 20% that year to 11% in 2019.

Rob Cope, director of Remember a Charity, said: “We’re continuing to see growth in legacy giving over the long term, which is fantastic news for charities across the sector. It’s clear that there’s a real appetite for supporters to do something meaningful for good causes at the end of their lives, and that charities are communicating legacies well; creatively and sensitively, demonstrating how important they are in funding vital services.

“Legacy growth is being driven not only by charities communicating their own legacy case for support, but their willingness to work together to grow the market. Having a proactive and collaborative approach to legacies is critical if the sector is to succeed in normalising legacy giving and increasing the income pot so that there every charity can benefit.”

The study’s findings have been published in Remember a Charity’s impact report for 2019, which also highlights the coalition’s lobbying work and public awareness drive for legacy giving.

In the past year, the coalition has helped protect tax breaks for legacy giving and collaborated with other industry bodies to scrap a proposed hike in probate fees.

It has also helped drive the conversation among will-writers, with a record level of 68% saying they now raise the topic of gifts in wills with their clients

Mr Cope said: “There’s still a misconception amongst many that you have to be wealthy to write a charity into your Will or that you can’t leave a gift if you want to take care of your family and friends. So, we’ll be working hard to continue to address those myths this year and to support the sector in opening up conversation around legacy giving.”