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According to fresh analysis, the average employee in the UK would require over five decades of earnings to attain the net worth of the most affluent 10% in the country.

Expanding Economic Disparity Through the Years

The analysis analyzed net worth information from the recent health crisis years and discovered that in the mid-2000s, it would have required nearly four decades of average worker salary to reach the wealthiest decile of the wealth distribution.

A research lead associated with the study observed: "Financial divides in Britain are presently so substantial that a regular employee setting aside their entire income across their entire working life would still not be able to attain the highest level of the wealth ladder."

Quantifying the Economic Gap

The study revealed that the difference between the net worth of the typical individual and an individual in the top 10% was £1 million in the mid-2000s, but had increased to £1.3 million in real terms by the pandemic years.

The economist added: "These gaps are particularly worrying as wealth mobility in Britain is restricted – individuals who begin life wealthy tend to remain affluent, and vice versa."

Relative Wealth Inequality

Although the economic divide widening in actual numbers, the share of complete net worth in the UK owned by the richest households – known as "proportional economic disparity" – has been "broadly stable since the 1980s," per the research.

Over this timeframe, complete net worth in the UK surged from thrice the gross domestic product, to approximately 7.5x.

Factors of Economic Disparity

Referred to as "passive" increases, by means of growing real estate costs and changes in pension valuations, were the main drivers of the widening wealth gap over the past decade, per the study.

These gains tended to accrue to older, property-owning households, the study demonstrates – worsening the age-based economic gap.

Intergenerational Financial Divides

The average wealth gap between individuals aged 30-34 and those in their early 60s grew by more than 100% in real terms, from £135k in pre-financial crisis, to £310,000.

Regional Variations

There were also stark regional variations, with the median value of net worth in 2020-22 reaching £290k in the SE of England, where property prices have tended to rise rapidly, versus £110,000 in the northeastern region.

COVID Era Effects

Amid the health crisis, when millions of workers were supported by the taxpayer-backed furlough scheme, and pandemic lockdowns curtailed consumption options, the information reveals numerous families were able to save, increasing their wealth.

Higher-income households performed significantly better, however. "The typical family in the bottom income bracket saw their cash reserves grow by only eighty pounds during the COVID years (2019-20 to 2021-22), broadly the same as the pre-crisis period. On the other hand, the typical family in the highest income quintile saw their liquid savings grow by 4,200 pounds," the report finds.