Inheritances passed down the generations do not appear to have made the wealth gap between richer and poorer households wider, research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found.

The research, published as part of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (Elsa), found that inheritances and large gifts received by people born between the 1920s and 1950s in England do not appear to have increased the degree of inequality in their wealth holdings.

Although wealthier people tend to receive larger inheritances in cash terms, the value of what they receive as an inheritance windfall tends to be smaller in relation to the wealth that they have already built up, the IFS found.

People who are well-educated and have larger incomes are more likely to both receive an inheritance in the first place, and to receive one which is bigger than average, the IFS found.

But Rowena Crawford, a senior research economist at IFS and the author of the report, said: "Contrary to popular belief, inheritances appear to have had little impact on the distribution of wealth among older individuals.

"Wealthier individuals are more likely to have received an inheritance, and to have received larger inheritances, but they also have more of their own wealth and so the proportionate increase in their wealth from inheritances is actually smaller than for lower wealth individuals."

But she said the situation could change in future, adding: "Inheritances and gifts are becoming more common though, and these patterns may be different for younger cohorts."

The research found that 28% of those born between the 1920s and 1950s report having received at least one inheritance in the past, while 7% have received at least one gift worth more than £1,000.

The average value of inheritances received was £34,540, but 15% of recipients received less than £5,000 in total, while more than 10% received more than £200,000.

Last week, Prime Minister David Cameron said that people who did not feel "in any way mega-rich" were being affected by inheritance tax.

He said that people should be able to pass their family home to their children "rather than leave it to the taxman".

At present, inheritance tax is levied at a rate of 40% on the value of an estate above the £325,000 threshold - with married couples able effectively to combine their allowances to £650,000.

Mr Cameron said previously: "I think even at £650,00, particularly in some parts of the country, you see someone who has worked hard, they have put money into their house, they have done it up to improve it and they want to leave it to their children and they don't feel that they are in any way the mega-rich, and they feel 'I should be able to do that without having 40% of it knocked off'."

Government plans also aim to make it easier for people to spread pension wealth across families . It recently announced that from April people will have the freedom to pass on their unused defined contribution (DC) pension to any nominated beneficiary when they die, rather than paying the 55% tax charge that applies to pensions passed on at death.