ALMOST HALF OF IFAs HAVE ‘NO IDEA’ HOW TO FINANCIALLY PROTECT PEOPLE WITH A LEARNING DISABILITY
Specialist trust provider Mencap Trust Company urges IFAs to increase their knowledge Knowledge is knowing a lot about something. to prevent people with a learning disability A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things. from losing their means-tested benefits
Almost half of Independent Financial Financial means anything that is to do with money. It is used to describe how people, businesses, or governments get money and how they use it Advisors surveyed (47%) have ‘no idea’ how to protect Protect means keeping someone or something safe. people with a learning disability - and over a third of financial Financial means anything that is to do with money. It is used to describe how people, businesses, or governments get money and how they use it and legal professionals (35%) do not feel confident advising clients who want to leave inheritance to a loved one with a learning disability - according to new research Research is a way of finding out information which could come from books, or asking people what they think. by Mencap Trust Company.
This is putting people with a learning disability at risk of losing vital benefits or becoming victims of financial abuse Abuse is when someone bullies you and does or says something to you that makes you feel hurt, upset or scared. . An estimated 147,000 people in England with a learning disability could be at risk.
A survey of 501 legal professionals, of which 301 were IFAs and financial planners, commissioned by Mencap Trust Company and conducted by Censuswide, has revealed a worrying knowledge gap:
- Around one third (34%) of financial and legal professionals – and half of IFAs - admitted they had ‘no idea’ how to financially protect people with a learning disability through advising their clients.
- Over a third of IFAs and financial planners (35%) said that they do not feel confident advising families who want to financially protect someone with a learning disability or who want to leave inheritance or a lifetime gift to someone with a learning disability.
- This lack of confidence was despite nearly nine in ten survey respondents (87%) saying they had received training on advising clients with a beneficiary who has a learning disability
- Almost two-thirds (65%) of IFAs failed to correctly identify that a specialist trust was the best option to support a client leaving a large legacy to a beneficiary with a learning disability accessing means-tested benefits.
Mencap Trust Company (MTC), which specialises in providing trusts for people with a learning disability, is shining a light on the lack of understanding which is leaving people with a learning disability at risk of losing their vital state benefits and of financial abuse Financial abuse is when someone takes your money or things that belong to you without asking.This is also when someone gets you to spend money on them. .
It is urging Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs), financial planners and solicitors to download its free guide to better understand how to advise families of people with a learning disability.
People with a learning disability have a reduced intellectual ability which makes everyday activities challenging, including managing money.
Well-meaning family members wanting to provide for them after their deaths may leave them a gift in their will as an ‘outright gift’, but this can backfire.
Leaving a large sum of money directly to an individual with a learning disability can result in them being stripped of their vital state benefits and leave them highly vulnerable Being vulnerable means being at risk of harm, or that you need special care because of your age or disability. to financial abuse.
Worryingly, 85% of legal and financial professionals surveyed failed to fully understand these risks, and 75% failed to properly understand what a learning disability was.
Just over 1 in 5 (21%) of all financial and legal professionals confessed they wouldn’t know where to find information to get advice or support on the issue, while a similar proportion (20%) said they would rely on AI as a primary information source.
But nearly all of those surveyed (99%) said they wanted to learn more about the issue and recognised the value of a specialist provider like Mencap Trust Company such as being experts at communicating with beneficiaries who have learning disabilities and able to signpost them to further support.
David Raeburn, director at Mencap Trust Company said:
“Every day we hear heartbreaking stories of families who have left inheritance for their loved one with a learning disability to give them financial stability – only for it to be taken away because they haven’t put it in a trust A Trust looks after money for a person or a group of people. .
“Maybe the family wants to provide their loved one with financial stability, additional money for therapy or to do the hobbies they love but instead their benefits are stripped away, and they are exposed to financial abuse.
“There are two simple ways that IFAs and financial planners can prevent this happening and give their clients the best advice. First, ask the question: Does the person you want to leave inheritance to have a learning disability or other vulnerability? Secondly, understand how a specialist trust can help.
“We are really pleased that financial planners have said they want to learn about how to better support families of people with a learning disability. We are offering a short, free downloadable guide at mencaptrust.org.uk to help with this.
“We also hope to work with chartered bodies and the IFA community A community is the people and places in an area. to ensure IFAs and financial planners feel supported on this important issue and no one with a learning disability misses out on the financial advice they need."
IFA Ian Dempsey from Bedfordshire, who has worked in financial services for more than twenty years said:
“I had no idea this knowledge gap was so widespread across our sector or that so many people with a learning disability could be at risk if IFAs don’t provide the correct advice.
“While IFAs receive training on vulnerability, the focus is usually on the client rather than the beneficiary. We have an ethical duty to give clients the right advice and a responsibility Responsibility is managing or being in charge of something. to ensure vulnerable people aren’t negatively affected by a lack of awareness.
“I recently supported a client whose daughter has a learning disability, and because I had access to good peer support, I was able to advise her correctly. But not everyone has that network, so it’s encouraging to see more formal guidance Guidance means being given clear instructions to be able to do something well. becoming available.
“Just asking one question about vulnerable beneficiaries could make a huge difference. I’d welcome the regulator taking an interest in this and incorporating it into vulnerability training. In the meantime, I’d urge other IFAs to look at Mencap Trust Company’s guidance so we can feel more confident in this area.”
To download the free guide visit the Mencap Trust Company
Website
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at www.mencaptrust.org.uk
Notes to Editors
For more information or interviews please contact Catherine Jones, working on behalf of Mencap Trust Company on [email protected]
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 501 independent financial advisors, solicitors (217 IFAs, 84 Financial planners, 200 solicitors). Minimum of 50 respondents from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The data was collected between 05.08.2026 - 13.08.2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling
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(BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality
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. We adhere to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles.
Percentages have been rounded up.
- IFA survey respondents were asked if they agreed with the statement “I have no idea how to protect people with a learning disability” and 47% somewhat or strongly agreed.
- All survey respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement: I do not feel confident in advising families who want to want to financially protect someone with a learning disability/ leave inheritance or a lifetime gift to someone with a learning disability. 30% somewhat or strongly agreed with this.
- Modelling by Mencap in September 2026 estimates that the number of adults with a learning disability in England who will at some point inherit enough to affect a means-tested benefit is 147,000. A figure for the whole of the UK is not available
- IFA and financial planner respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement: “I do not feel confident in advising families who want to want to financially protect someone with a learning disability/ leave inheritance or a lifetime gift to someone with a learning disability”. 35% somewhat or strongly agreed with this.
- 87% of all respondents said this
- IFA survey respondents were given the following scenario: One of your clients wants to leave a £200,000 gift in their will to a loved one with a learning disability who is on means-tested benefits. What if anything, would you be most likely to advise. The correct answer was: I would advise them to set up a trust. Only 35% answered correctly, meaning 65% got the answer wrong
- All survey respondents were asks to pick three reasons why it might be damaging for someone with a learning disability to inherit 'outright' or receive a cash 'gift' within their lifetime.’ The correct answers were 1) That it could affect their entitlement to means-tested benefits meaning they are removed or reduced 2) It could put the beneficiary at risk of financial abuse 3)If the beneficiary lacked
mental capacity
Mental capacity means being able to make a decision when it needs to be made.
they may not be able to manage the funds. 85% of survey respondents selected at least one incorrect option. - All survey respondents were asked to select which statements were the correct definition of a learning disability. 75% of respondents selected incorrect options
- All survey respondents were asked what barriers would prevent them knowing more about how to advise families of people with a learning disability. 21% said they wouldn’t know where to find information to get advise or support on the issue. A similar proportion (20%) said they would rely on AI as a primary information source if they decided to do their own research to better advise their clients on leaving money to family members with a learning disability.
- Only 0.8% of all survey respondents said “There would be no incentive – it isn't something I am interested in” when asked what would be their main incentives to learn more about how they can financially or legally protect people with a learning disability suggesting 99% would
About Mencap Trust Company
Mencap Trust Company is a specialist trust provider for people with a learning disability. It is a not-for-profit and it is affiliated with Mencap, the UK learning disability charity. Mencap Trust Company manages more than 1200 trusts for beneficiaries who have a learning disability, acting as trustee to distribute funds and ensuring that the wishes of the person who left the inheritance are adhered to.