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According to new analysis, the average employee in the UK would have to work half a century of earnings to attain the net worth of the most affluent 10% in the country.

Expanding Wealth Gap Across Decades

The analysis reviewed wealth distribution data including the 2020-22 timeframe and discovered that during the pre-financial crisis era, it would have needed nearly four decades of average worker salary to reach the top 10th of the wealth distribution.

An economic expert associated with the report commented: "Financial divides in Britain are currently so significant that a regular employee accumulating their complete salary during their working years would remain unable to achieve the peak of the wealth ladder."

Quantifying the Economic Gap

The research found that the gap between the assets of the median citizen and a person belonging to the wealthiest decile was one million pounds in the mid-2000s, but had expanded to 1.3 million pounds in real terms by recent times.

The researcher added: "These disparities are doubly concerning as economic movement in Britain is low – people that start life affluent tend to stay wealthy, and the opposite holds true."

Relative Wealth Inequality

Despite the economic divide widening in absolute terms, the portion of total wealth in the UK owned by the wealthiest families – termed "proportional economic disparity" – has been "broadly stable since the 1980s era," as stated in the analysis.

Throughout these years, total wealth in the UK rose substantially from triple the yearly economic output, to approximately 7.5x.

Factors of Financial Divide

So-called "unearned" increases, via growing real estate costs and adjustments to superannuation evaluations, were the main drivers of the growing financial disparity since 2010, per the analysis.

These gains generally flowed to elderly homeowners, the study demonstrates – worsening the age-based economic gap.

Generational Wealth Disparities

The average wealth gap between thirty-somethings and sixty-somethings grew by more than 100% in actual value, from 135 thousand pounds in 2006-08, to £310k.

Area-Based Differences

Additionally, there were pronounced regional variations, with the average level of assets in the pandemic period reaching £290k in the southeastern region, where real estate values have typically increased quickly, versus 110 thousand pounds in the north-east.

Pandemic Period Impact

Throughout the COVID period, when millions of workers were protected by the taxpayer-backed furlough scheme, and pandemic lockdowns reduced expenditure possibilities, the data shows countless homes were capable of accumulating, increasing their wealth.

More affluent homes fared much better, though. "The average household in the lowest-income quintile saw their available funds rise by merely £80 over the pandemic period (from 2019 to 2022), roughly identical to the 24 months before COVID. On the other hand, the typical family in the wealthiest fifth saw their cash reserves increase by £4,200," the report finds.