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According to recent analysis, the average employee in the UK would have to work half a century of salary to attain the wealth level of the wealthiest 10% of the population.

Expanding Financial Divide Through the Years

This research analyzed financial assets data covering the Covid pandemic period and found that back in 2006-08, it would have needed 38 years of median full-time earnings to reach the wealthiest decile of the financial hierarchy.

A research lead involved with the report observed: "Wealth gaps in Britain are now so large that a average worker accumulating their complete salary throughout their career would still not be able to reach the top of the financial hierarchy."

Measuring the Financial Disparity

The analysis found that the disparity between the assets of the average person and a person belonging to the wealthiest decile was £1 million in the pre-crisis period, but had increased to £1.3m in real terms by 2020-22.

The researcher added: "These differences are particularly worrying as wealth mobility in Britain is restricted – people that start life affluent tend to remain affluent, and the opposite holds true."

Comparative Financial Divide

Despite the economic divide growing in absolute terms, the percentage of total wealth in the UK owned by the richest households – known as "proportional economic disparity" – has been "mostly consistent since the eighties," as stated in the study.

During this period, total wealth in the UK surged from thrice the annual GDP, to approximately 7.5x.

Factors of Financial Divide

Termed "passive" increases, via rising house prices and changes in superannuation evaluations, were the key contributors of the growing financial disparity since 2010, per the study.

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

Intergenerational Economic Gaps

The average wealth gap between people in their early 30s and those in their early 60s increased over twofold in actual value, from £135k in 2006-08, to £310k.

Area-Based Disparities

Additionally, there were pronounced regional variations, with the median value of wealth in 2020-22 standing at 290 thousand pounds in south-east England, where housing costs have generally grown substantially, as opposed to 110 thousand pounds in the northeastern region.

Pandemic Period Effects

During the pandemic, when countless laborers were protected by the government-supported job retention program, and Covid shutdowns curtailed consumption options, the data shows many households were in a position to set aside money, increasing their wealth.

More affluent homes fared much better, however. "The average household in the bottom income bracket saw their liquid savings grow by only eighty pounds throughout the health crisis (2019-20 to 2021-22), approximately equivalent to the two years pre-pandemic. In contrast, the average household in the wealthiest fifth saw their liquid savings rise by £4,200," the report finds.