As 2026 begins, there are signs that confidence in Ireland’s economic direction is gradually strengthening, with more people feeling the country is moving in a positive direction. Many households, however, are still navigating rising living costs which is placing pressure on personal finances. The findings reflect sentiment at the time of research in February 2026, prior to recent developments in the Middle East, which may influence economic sentiment.

Although it makes financial sense to plan and invest for the long term, it feels harder to put our money away today. This is known as Present bias. Even amongst older adults, less than half (43%) report having put a financial strategy in place. This PTSB Reflecting Ireland report examines how people are preparing their finances for later life and reveals clear differences in financial planning behaviours across generations genders and socio-economic groups.

Financial Planning for later life

• Less than one in four (23%) Irish adults have a clear plan for their financial future versus 14% who have no intention to put a plan in place. 29% have initiated planning while 34% express a willingness to do so but haven’t actioned on their intent yet.
• 65+ year olds are four times as likely to have a clear plan as those aged 45-54 year olds (10%). Interestingly, 31% of 18-24 year olds have a plan in place to manage their future finances.
• Men (29%) are far more likely to plan for the future, as compared to women (16%). Women are less confident about affording the lifestyle they want into retirement at 40% versus men at 57%.
• Only 17% of C2DE households have made financial plans for their life ahead, with ABC1 households leading with 29%, highlighting the need for increased access to financial education.
• One in three, 31%, have made a will with 53% planning to do so; 51% have begun planning their pension; 50% have secured a life insurance; of those who have made a plan, 44% have transferred their assets at an early stage.

Conversations around Inheritance

• Eight in 10 adults (80%) are most comfortable discussing inheritance with their partners, but this falls to 61% when it comes to talking to a professional.
• Only one in two are confident about receiving the right information for financial or inheritance planning. Men (56%) are more confident than women (41%), but nearly four in 10 adults worry that discussions around inheritance could potentially create rifts within the family.
• One in two (51%) have received or are expecting to receive an inheritance – 38% report having received an inheritance with 32% expecting to receive one. However, a combined 49% have not or do not expect to receive one at all.
• Over half, 53%, expect to receive up to €100,000, but expectations for high-value inheritance exceeding €500,000 are quite low, at only 4%.
• Almost half, 47%, are at least fairly reliant on inheritance to achieve long-term financial goals. Unsurprisingly, the 65+ year old bracket is the least reliant on inheritance.
• 45% of everyone surveyed plan to use future inheritance to help with savings, followed by 35% who will use it for home improvements.

Planning Ahead for Future Requests

• Over half of those who have made a plan (53%) expect to leave behind planned bequests of up to €100,000, while 49% of those who have made plans expect to leave up to €250,000.
• A smaller, but still meaningful, segment 28% of planners expect to leave inheritances exceeding €250,000.

Awareness of Inheritance Planning Supports

• Barriers to inheritance and financial planning includes the cost of living with 49% say it is the most likely potential barrier to accumulating generational wealth.
• Awareness of bequest planning tools is extremely low. For example, 54% of the population are unaware of the €3,000 tax-free gifting rule, suggesting Irish families are missing out on an opportunity to reduce future tax costs and support their children earlier.
• Just one in 10 claim to have used Decision Support Service (DSS) before and 61% are unaware of the service at all.