Nearly four in five adults have no registered Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).

Over three quarters (77%) of over 55s had not registered an LPA, according to a new survey by Canada Life.

There was a 26.5% fall in the number of LPAs registered in 2020/21 in comparison to the previous tax year, according to a recent Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Justice by Canada Life.

In total, 636,628 registrations were completed, split between 282,883 health and welfare and 353,745 property and finance LPAs.

This compares to 866,272 registrations in the previous tax year (2019/20) split between 382,130 health and welfare and 484,142 property and financial, which to date is the peak year for registrations.

LPAs can be registered for health and welfare needs or can be registered for someone to make decisions around property and financial needs.

Andrew Tully, technical director at Canada Life, said: “The very low uptake in registering LPAs, especially among the over 55 age group, is likely because of the lack of awareness of what they are and the resulting benefits from having them.

“Our recent FOI revealed the number of LPAs registrations fell during the pandemic, which went against the huge increases seen in registrations in the previous five years. This is partly due to the processing changes that needed to be made at the start of the pandemic and the resulting backlog caused.”

Separate research from Financial Planning and wealth management firm Quilter found that fewer than one in three (29%) 'baby boomers' with over £250,000 in household wealth have registered an LPA.

According to additional data obtained by Quilter via a Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Justice, LPA registrations remain 18.8% below pre-pandemic level.

April 2021 to February 2022 saw 653,472 LPA registrations compared to 804,589 for the period April 2019 to February 2020.

Registrations were 14.8% up on the prior year, which had seen a rapid 30% drop due to disruption to the process of applying for an LPA as a result of the pandemic.

Shaun Moore, tax and Financial Planning expert at Quilter, said: “Putting an LPA in place is a vital part of Financial Planning and often one of the first things a financial adviser will recommend for a client, yet the number of LPAs registered for those approaching later life remains worryingly low.

“Last year, we were pleased to see the government launch a consultation on modernising LPAs. The process must be streamlined so we can remove any barriers to registration.

“The government is set to share its response to the consultation imminently, but in the meantime, government must continue to increase awareness of the benefits of LPAs and support people to set one up sooner rather than later.”

• Opinium surveyed 2,000 UK adults on behalf of Canada Life between 4 and 8 March. Quilter surveyed 826 adults via a self-service survey platform between 31 January and 1 February.