How to help your children go from HENRY to HNW

If your children have flown the nest, benefited from an esteemed education, and are now in full flow with their careers, they could be classed as “HENRYs” – “high earner, not rich yet”.

As you will know, having built and maintained wealth yourself, there is a big difference between being a high earner and being comfortably wealthy. Time, consistency, and a solid plan can help young high earners go from taking home a competitive salary to being a “HNW” or “high net worth” individual.

As a parent or grandparent, there are ways to help them along the way too. Let’s explore a few options that you could discuss with your Wealth Planner or Investment Manager.

Help your children visualise their long-term goals

If they’re in the throes of their careers and building a life for themselves, your child or grandchild may not think past the next few months or years. Even if they are earning well above £100,000 a year, they could still find themselves spending everything each month, especially if they live in London, have expensive hobbies, or love to travel.

But as you will know, to build a long-lasting foundation of wealth, it’s crucial to plan in decades rather than years.

To help your child consider the big picture, it may be worth having conversations about their goals:

• Do they want to start their own family soon?
• Have they got aspirations to start a business?
• Where do they see themselves living for the next 10 years or more?
• What events could threaten their stability, such as a job loss?

If your child has an idea of how they would answer these questions, you could broach topics including:

• The benefits of long-term investing
• Whether they have an emergency fund
• The value of early and consistent pension contributions
• The kind of assets they may want to invest in
• The balance between enjoying life today and building wealth for tomorrow.

Drawing on your own life experience, you may be able to have meaningful conversations with your young family members about the importance of building wealth, not just earning well.

Boost their income through lifetime gifts

You may wish to have a more direct impact on your child’s income, helping them to build wealth while handling the financial pressures of modern life.

For instance, if your child is saving for a home, even as a high earner they may not be able to simultaneously overpay into their pension and/or build a substantial investment portfolio. The average 10% deposit on a home in London is nearly £45,000, which for most young earners would require several years of diligent saving and leave little room for additional investment. [1]

Indeed, research suggests that even those in the highest income bands are under-saving for retirement, potentially due to the high cost of living. [2]

Plus, those earning between £100,000 and £125,140 are caught in the 60% Income Tax trap, and if they have young families, are not entitled to any free childcare, whereas those earning less than £100,000 can get up to 30 hours a week funded by the government.

Having a conversation with your child may help you understand where there are gaps to be filled.

Once you have established what they need, there are several ways you could boost their income or build wealth on their behalf. Trust in your child and tax efficiency are essential; the former means you trust them not to fritter away what you’re giving them, and the latter ensures that as much wealth as possible remains in the family.

Read our insights into gifting from surplus income and using trust structures to build generational wealth, or set up a meeting with a Wealth Planner, to learn more about gifting wealth to the next generation.

Consider intergenerational wealth planning

If you’re retired, or close to retirement, your “accumulation period” may be coming to a close. In contrast, your children and grandchildren are only at the beginning of their journeys. Although the path to becoming high net worth may be apparent to you, they could likely do with some clear guidance from a trusted professional.

What’s more, if you plan to pass a large estate to your children or grandchildren in the coming years (either gradually or all at once after you die), improving their financial knowledge and giving them an ally to turn to is essential.

We can help your young family members go from HENRY to HNW. Contact your Relationship Manager or email info@ipscap.com for more information.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate Lasting Powers of Attorney, will writing, or estate planning. IPS Capital does not provide tax or legal advice.

Sources

[1] 26.01.2026 Revealed: London first-time buyers now need £45,000 for a 10 per cent house deposit The Standard

[2] 21.07.2025 Analysis of Future Pension Incomes 2025 Gov.uk