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According to new research, the average earner in the UK would require half a century of income to achieve the net worth of the richest 10% nationwide.

Growing Financial Divide Over Time

This research examined financial assets information covering the 2020-22 timeframe and determined that back in 2006-08, it would have taken 38 years' worth of average worker salary to enter the wealthiest decile of the economic ladder.

An economic expert associated with the report observed: "Economic disparities in Britain are presently so substantial that a average worker saving all their earnings across their entire working life would still not be able to achieve the peak of the economic scale."

Measuring the Financial Disparity

The research discovered that the difference between the assets of the typical individual and someone in the top 10% was £1 million in 2006-08, but had increased to £1.3 million in inflation-adjusted terms by the pandemic years.

The analyst added: "These differences are especially alarming as wealth mobility in Britain is low – those who commence life affluent tend to remain affluent, and the opposite holds true."

Relative Wealth Inequality

Although the financial disparity expanding in specific figures, the share of overall assets in the UK held by the most affluent homes – termed "relative wealth inequality" – has been "mostly consistent since the 1980s," per the study.

Over this timeframe, complete net worth in the UK increased dramatically from three times the gross domestic product, to approximately 7.5x.

Contributors of Economic Disparity

So-called "unearned" increases, via increasing property values and adjustments to retirement fund assessments, were the main drivers of the growing financial disparity over the past decade, as stated in the study.

These appreciations typically went to senior citizens with real estate, the research shows – worsening the generational financial disparity.

Intergenerational Economic Gaps

The median economic difference between thirty-somethings and people aged 60-64 increased over twofold in real terms, from 135 thousand pounds in the mid-2000s, to £310,000.

Area-Based Variations

Furthermore, the study revealed pronounced regional variations, with the average level of wealth in 2020-22 reaching £290k in south-east England, where real estate values have tended to rise rapidly, as opposed to £110k in the NE of England.

Health Crisis Years Impact

During the pandemic, when numerous employees were protected by the government-supported job retention program, and Covid shutdowns limited opportunities for spending, the data shows countless homes were in a position to set aside money, increasing their wealth.

Higher-income households performed significantly better, nevertheless. "The median home in the bottom income bracket saw their liquid savings grow by only eighty pounds over the pandemic period (from 2019 to 2022), broadly the same as the two years pre-pandemic. On the other hand, the median home in the top income bracket saw their cash reserves rise by £4,200," the report finds.