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This article is for general guidance only and is not financial or professional advice. Any links are for your own information, and do not constitute any form of recommendation by Saga. You should not solely rely on this information to make any decisions, and consider seeking independent professional advice. All figures and information in this article are correct at the time of publishing, but laws, entitlements, tax treatments and allowances may change in the future.
Powers beyond our control, such as geo-political events worldwide or an uncertain economic backdrop at home, means there’s always an element of uncertainty surrounding our personal finances.
But one factor that you can control is what happens to your assets – your money, belongings, and property – after you have passed away.
This summer, we researched Saga customers to hear your views on the main legal safeguards that ensure an individual’s finances are organised in a way that best suits them.
Here’s what you told us.
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Planning ahead for when you might no longer be able to make decisions for yourself is clearly a subject that most Saga customers take seriously.
The overwhelming majority, an impressive 97% of respondents, acknowledged the importance of having the necessary plans in place should they no longer be able to make decisions for themselves.
This finding came from our Experienced Voices survey of nearly 2,000 people that we carried out this summer.
Our extensive research showed that respondents not only talk the talk, but they are also happy to walk the walk when it comes to organising their financial and personal affairs.
In fact, the over-whelming majority, a massive 91%, told us they had already written a will.
Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds (62%) said they had set up a lasting power of attorney (LPA).
A will is a legal document that sets out what happens to your money, property and possessions in the event of your death.
In contrast, an LPA lets you name one, or more, trusted individuals to make decisions, or help you to make decisions, about either your finances or your health and welfare, should you lose mental capacity.
This could be due to suffering from a condition such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
We’ll look at the practicalities of arranging and setting up both wills and LPAs in more details below.
Just over three-quarters of respondents (76%) told us they were motivated to write wills, or set up legal arrangements, because it would make it easier for their families to administer arrangements such as their financial affairs when the time arrived.
According to our findings, women are significantly more likely than men to agree with the importance of making plans. But they are less likely to plan for future financial decisions – especially in areas such as investing, retirement planning and estate planning.
When it comes to important life decisions, we learnt that women are more likely than men to have discussed their wishes with family. For example, on the subject of funeral arrangements.
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We’ve written extensively before about how to make a will, and even what not to include in a will.
Unfortunately, contested wills can be a source of frustration for both beneficiaries and omitted parties alike.
Probate is the legal process of dealing with someone’s possessions once they have passed away. With challenges to probate on the rise, we’ve reported elsewhere on how best to write a dispute-free will, as well as the best places to store the necessary documentation (everywhere from a home safe to securely in cyberspace!).
We’ve also reported on the experiences of a woman who agreed to be the executor of, not one, but two wills. A job, she said, that involved a lot more work than she expected. An executor is a person who is named in a will and is legally responsible for handling the estate of a deceased person.
Our research also showed that twice as many men as women – 31%, compared with 15% – were likely to believe that their spouse or partner could automatically make decisions for them, should the need arise.
This brings us on to the subject of LPAs which produced some interesting, and the occasionally troubling, findings.
According to government figures, there are around six million LPAs in existence in the UK, a figure that has soared over the past 20 years.
We’ve written elsewhere about what an LPA is and how one works. We’ve also reported on the mistakes it’s worth avoiding when setting up an LPA, and also what to expect once it’s time to put an LPA into practice.
Just under half of our respondents (44%) said they would be most likely to set up an LPA with the help of clear, step-by-step guidance, or off the back of a health scare.
About one in five respondents (22%) said they had not got around to arranging an LPA. Around one-in-eight (12%) did not believe an LPA was necessary, while 9% cited cost concerns as an issue.
Worryingly, a significant proportion of respondents were under certain misconceptions in relation to LPAs.
For example, around a quarter of replies (23%) incorrectly believed that an LPA provides attorneys, the people entrusted with looking after an individual’s affairs, with automatic access to items such as bank accounts.
In addition, nearly a third of respondents thought decisions could be made on behalf of an individual before they lost mental capacity.
Our findings suggest there is a clear need to improve the understanding of when LPA powers apply as well as their legal limits, especially around timing and access to finances.
According to a Freedom of Information request by investing platform Hargreaves Lansdown, more than 50,000 LPAs were rejected in the 2023/24 financial year resulting in frustration, delay and additional costs for those involved.
With it currently taking between eight to ten weeks for the Office of the Public Guardian to process an application in England and Wales, it’s an important piece of legal documentation to get right first time.
A separate body, the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) carries out similar tasks north of the border.
You can find out more details about the process here.
The survey was based on 1,787 responses. The research was carried out in June 2026 as part of Saga’s Experienced Voices panel.
Let’s make sure you have the right plans in place for you and your loved ones.
If you lose mental capacity, lasting power of attorney will dictate what happens to your finances.
Discover practical tips from someone who has done the job twice.
Find out the common errors and how to avoid them.
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