The ‘citizens inheritance’: should we give £10,000 to every 25-year old?

A thinktank has proposed giving a £10,000 ‘citizens inheritance’ to every 25-year old that can be spent on education, buying a home, pensions or starting a business – but who will pay for it? And would you support it?

The Government should give £10,000 to every British citizen or British-born residents when they turn 25, a thinktank has recommended.

The Resolution Foundation believes that a ‘citizens inheritance’ would narrow what it sees as a huge divide in wealth between younger and older generations.

The £10,000 could only be used to pay for education or training, renting or buying a home, investment in pensions or start-up costs for new businesses.

The scheme would be principally funded by replacing Inheritance Tax with a ‘lifetime receipts tax’ which would tax gifts above £125,000, even whilst the giver remains alive. Help to Buy and Lifetime ISAs would also be scrapped.

Other proposals suggested by the Foundation to cover the cost include requiring Brits to pay National Insurance on their pension income.

Former Conservative Government Minister David Willets, executive chair of the Foundation, admitted that “the ideas we set out are not easy or comfortable” and added he is “not expecting political parties to embrace them straightaway.”

Another thinktank, the Institute of Economic Affairs, was far more critical of the proposal.

Kate Andrews of the IEA asked: “Why should the salary of a 40-year-old person, earning the minimum wage, be redistributed to top-up a 25-year-old, earning double or triple the average national income?

"There is nothing progressive about cash transfers that are based on age."

What do you think? Should 25-year olds get £10,000 and would it make a difference? Please answer our poll and explain your view in the comments section below.

We'll be writing a follow-up story based on your responses so please explain your views in the comments section below.