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Per fresh study, the typical employee in the UK would need over five decades of income to attain the financial standing of the richest 10% of the population.

Growing Financial Divide Through the Years

The study examined net worth statistics including the recent health crisis years and determined that in 2006-08, it would have required 38 years of average worker salary to enter the richest segment of the wealth distribution.

A research lead part of the analysis stated: "Financial divides in Britain are currently so significant that a typical full-time employee setting aside their entire income across their entire working life would remain unable to attain the highest level of the wealth ladder."

Quantifying the Wealth Divide

The analysis revealed that the disparity between the wealth of the median citizen and an individual in the richest segment was one million pounds in the pre-crisis period, but had widened to £1.3 million in real terms by recent times.

The analyst continued: "These gaps are doubly concerning as wealth mobility in Britain is low – individuals who begin life well-off tend to stay wealthy, and vice versa."

Proportional Economic Disparity

Despite the wealth gap expanding in specific figures, the portion of total wealth in the UK possessed by the richest households – called "proportional economic disparity" – has been "largely unchanged since the 1980s era," as stated in the study.

During this period, overall assets in the UK surged from three times the annual GDP, to almost 7.5 times.

Factors of Financial Divide

Referred to as "unearned" gains, by means of rising house prices and variations in superannuation evaluations, were the main drivers of the widening wealth gap since 2010, according to the analysis.

These appreciations tended to accrue to older, property-owning households, the study demonstrates – exacerbating the intergenerational wealth divide.

Intergenerational Economic Gaps

The average wealth gap 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 £310k.

Area-Based Differences

Furthermore, the study revealed pronounced area-based disparities, with the average level of wealth in the pandemic period standing at £290k in the southeastern region, where housing costs have typically increased quickly, compared with £110,000 in the northeastern region.

Health Crisis Years Consequences

Throughout the COVID period, when millions of workers were protected by the public-funded employment protection, and pandemic lockdowns reduced expenditure possibilities, the statistics indicate many households were able to save, growing their net worth.

Wealthier families fared much better, however. "The median home in the lowest-income quintile saw their liquid savings rise by merely £80 during the COVID years (across the pandemic timeframe), approximately equivalent to the pre-crisis period. Conversely, the typical family in the wealthiest fifth saw their available funds rise by £4,200," the study reveals.