61% of over-50s are yet to tick a single thing off their bucket list

The latest research by Final Duties, the UK’s most experienced probate brokers, has found that 73% of over-50s wish they would have started ticking things off their bucket list earlier in life, with the majority (61%) yet to achieve anything on their current bucket list due to cost, age and health restrictions getting in the way.

A bucket list is a list of goals you want to achieve in life, whether it be travelling to a certain destination, achieving a hard to reach goal like running a marathon, or something simple like reading a new book.

They are a great way to reflect on what matters most to us in life, our personal values and what milestones and experiences we want to achieve before we’re dead and gone.

They are growing increasingly popular amongst older generations and a survey of over-50s, commissioned by Final Duties, found that more than one in five (22%) over-50s already have a bucket list.

When asked to best describe their bucket list ambitions, travel was the most common ambition amongst the over-50s, while financial health also ranked high, along with long shots such as travelling to space.

Maintaining and improving personal health also ranked high, as did easy wins such as reading a new book.

However, just 4% of those surveyed said they have fully completed their bucket list, with 20% having ticked off some, but not all of their desired goals.

15% stated they had ticked off a few things, but the majority (61%) are yet to have completed a single thing on their bucket list.

The main thing preventing them from taking on their bucket list was the financial requirement of the goals they wanted to achieve, while age was also a factor, as well as health, work and family commitments.

No surprise then, that 73% wish they would have started their bucket list at a younger age.

Managing Director of Final Duties, Jack Gill, said, “A bucket list is a great way to really think about what it is that you hold important, what it is you would like to achieve and how you can go about doing so.

Particularly in later life they can be a useful tool when it comes to prioritising our goals and ambitions, but as our research shows, the later you leave it the harder it becomes.

But you don’t have to travel the world, run a marathon or jump out of a plane for your ambitions to be bucket list worthy. As some of the responses we received demonstrate, they can be as simple as going to a gig, paying off the mortgage or donating to charity.

You can’t take it with you and if you don’t the Government will take a healthy slice of it via inheritance tax anyway, so you may as well make the most of it while you can and fill your life, and the lives of your loved ones, with enjoyment and lasting memories.”