Money going to children not charity

While the tsunami appeal had Britons reaching into their pockets in record numbers, overall UK residents are among the least generous people when leaving money to charity in their will.

New research from AXA found that only eight per cent of workers in the UK would be prepared to give money to charities when they die.

By contrast, Singapore had the highest proportion of workers (40 per cent) who intend to earmark part of their estate to charities.

Almost one in three Americas (31 per cent) will leave cash in their will, followed by 25 per cent of people in Hong Kong and 23 per cent of Canadians.

The Dutch, Belgians, Italians, and Japanese all proved to be ever less charitable than the British.

"There are huge differences between countries - in France, for example, there is a much greater focus on the family than in the UK," explained offshore portfolio manager at AXA, Christine Hall.

"Indeed, 91 per cent of the working population in France would plan to leave something to their children and 60 per cent to grandchildren compared to 63 per cent and 10 per cent respectively in the UK."

In the UK children were most likely to receive the lion's share of the inheritance, followed by partners, other family members, grandchildren, charities and other people, in that order.

AXA's research also found that only 37 per cent of the working population in the UK currently have a will.