How your legacy can help

With its high-level representation in industry, academia and expertise across all engineering disciplines, the Academy is uniquely placed to advance the engineering agenda in the UK. Your legacy can help the Academy's work to:

• embed engineering expertise into national policymaking, promoting a rebalancing of the economy through innovation, entrepreneurship and investment in productive industry

• inspire the next generation of engineers and ensure they benefit from the best teaching and resources available

• build skills at all levels - from schools to further and higher education - to ensure business and industry have a strong supply of engineering talent

• create a research base strongly engaged with businesses that require the innovation and skills it provides

• establish the Forum for Engineering as a focal point for engineering in the UK

• showcase creative engineering's role in everyday life and highlight its pivotal role in addressing global challenges.

We would be pleased to discuss how your legacy could help particular Academy work programmes, many of which would benefit from extra support. The Academy has a strong reputation for meeting - and exceeding - the expectations of its many funders. Entrusting your legacy to the Academy will ensure your wishes are carried out.

As the Academy is a registered charity legacies will not be subject to inheritance tax in the UK. (As from April 2012, inheritance tax levied on the estates of those leaving 10% or more of their estate to charity will be reduced from 40% to 36%).

The Academy values all legacies it receives, whatever the size.

The future

The Academy's work, shaped and directed by its Fellows, is raising engineering's profile and making it part of the national dialogue. Media, policymakers - and increasingly the general public - are becoming attuned to engineering's message. Awareness and appreciation of engineering's role in social progress, wealth creation and addressing global challenges is growing.

To keep up the momentum, the Academy must continue to respond to strategic and emerging issues. We have had considerable success - Academy reports and policy consultations are valued for their authority and rigorous impartiality - and this invariably leads to further advice being sought.

Building the Academy's unrestricted funding will give it increased flexibility to contribute to informed policymaking on a larger scale. There are many areas of national policy which have an engineering dimension to delivery which would benefit from the input of the Fellowship's expertise.

This is an area the Academy is very keen to develop. There are many others and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss how your legacy might help.

Before drafting a Will, or making changes to an existing Will, the Academy recommends that you consult a qualified solicitor.

STEP (the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners) can provide details of solicitors who have experience in drawing up wills. STEP can be contacted on +44 (0)20 7340 0500 or online at www.step.org.

Information on leaving the Academy a legacy can be found here.