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According to fresh study, the median worker in the UK would need 52 years' worth of earnings to reach the net worth of the wealthiest 10% of the population.

Growing Financial Divide Over Time

The analysis examined financial assets data including the Covid pandemic period and determined that in the mid-2000s, it would have required 38 years' worth of average worker salary to join the top 10th of the economic ladder.

A senior economist associated with the report observed: "Economic disparities in Britain are currently so significant that a average worker saving all their earnings across their entire working life would still not be able to reach the top of the wealth ladder."

Quantifying the Economic Gap

The study revealed that the disparity between the assets of the median citizen and a person belonging to the richest segment was £1 million in the mid-2000s, but had expanded to £1.3 million in actual value by the pandemic years.

The analyst further stated: "These differences are particularly worrying as economic movement in Britain is low – people that start life well-off tend to stay wealthy, and vice versa."

Comparative Financial Divide

Even with the wealth gap growing in specific figures, the portion of complete net worth in the UK owned by the wealthiest families – known as "proportional economic disparity" – has been "broadly stable since the 1980s," according to the analysis.

Throughout these years, overall assets in the UK surged from three times the annual GDP, to almost 7.5 times.

Drivers of Economic Disparity

So-called "passive" increases, via rising house prices and adjustments to superannuation evaluations, were the main drivers of the expanding economic divide over the past decade, per the report.

These increases generally flowed to older, property-owning households, the research shows – exacerbating the intergenerational wealth divide.

Intergenerational Financial Divides

The typical financial disparity between individuals aged 30-34 and people aged 60-64 grew by more than 100% in real terms, from £135,000 in the mid-2000s, to £310,000.

Area-Based Variations

Additionally, there were pronounced geographic differences, with the typical amount of assets in recent years reaching £290,000 in south-east England, where housing costs have typically increased quickly, versus £110,000 in the northeastern region.

COVID Era Effects

Amid the health crisis, when numerous employees were protected by the taxpayer-backed furlough scheme, and health crisis restrictions curtailed consumption options, the statistics indicate many households were capable of accumulating, growing their net worth.

Wealthier families performed significantly better, however. "The typical family in the poorest fifth saw their available funds grow by only eighty pounds during the COVID years (across the pandemic timeframe), roughly identical to the pre-crisis period. On the other hand, the typical family in the top income bracket saw their available funds rise by £4,200," the study reveals.