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Per new research, the typical employee in the UK would require over five decades of salary to achieve the net worth of the wealthiest 10% of the population.

Expanding Economic Disparity Across Decades

This research analyzed net worth information covering the Covid pandemic period and determined that back in the mid-2000s, it would have required 38 years of typical employment income to enter the top 10th of the economic ladder.

A research lead involved with the study stated: "Financial divides in Britain are now so large that a average worker saving all their earnings during their working years would remain unable to reach the top of the financial hierarchy."

Measuring the Financial Disparity

The study found that the disparity between the assets of the typical individual and an individual in the wealthiest decile was £1m in 2006-08, but had widened to 1.3 million pounds in actual value by the pandemic years.

The researcher further stated: "These gaps are especially alarming as wealth mobility in Britain is low – those who commence life affluent tend to remain affluent, and vice versa."

Relative Wealth Inequality

Despite the economic divide growing in absolute terms, the percentage of complete net worth in the UK held by the most affluent homes – called "comparative financial divide" – has been "broadly stable since the 1980s," according to the research.

Throughout these years, overall assets in the UK rose substantially from triple the gross domestic product, to nearly seven and a half times.

Drivers of Wealth Inequality

Referred to as "unearned" increases, by means of growing real estate costs and adjustments to retirement fund assessments, were the primary factors of the widening wealth gap since 2010, according to the report.

These gains generally flowed to older, property-owning households, the research shows – worsening the age-based economic gap.

Age-Based Wealth Disparities

The average wealth gap between people in their early 30s and people aged 60-64 increased over twofold in real terms, from 135 thousand pounds in pre-financial crisis, to 310 thousand pounds.

Regional Differences

There were also stark geographic differences, with the median value of assets in 2020-22 amounting to £290,000 in south-east England, where property prices have typically increased quickly, compared with £110,000 in the north-east.

Pandemic Period Effects

Throughout the COVID period, when countless laborers were covered under the public-funded employment protection, and pandemic lockdowns limited opportunities for spending, the statistics indicate numerous families were able to save, enhancing their financial standing.

Higher-income households performed significantly better, however. "The typical family in the poorest fifth saw their liquid savings grow by only eighty pounds over the pandemic period (2019-20 to 2021-22), roughly identical to the two years pre-pandemic. In contrast, the median home in the highest income quintile saw their available funds rise by £4,200," the report finds.