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Per fresh analysis, the typical earner in the UK would need over five decades of earnings to reach the financial standing of the wealthiest 10% in the country.

Expanding Economic Disparity Through the Years

The analysis reviewed wealth distribution statistics covering the Covid pandemic period and found that back in 2006-08, it would have required 38 years of average worker salary to enter the richest segment of the wealth distribution.

A senior economist associated with the analysis observed: "Wealth gaps in Britain are currently so significant that a regular employee setting aside their entire income across their entire working life would remain unable to attain the highest level of the economic scale."

Measuring the Wealth Divide

The study discovered that the gap between the wealth of the typical individual and a person belonging to the wealthiest decile was £1m in the mid-2000s, but had widened to £1.3 million in real terms by 2020-22.

The researcher added: "These gaps are especially alarming as financial progression in Britain is limited – individuals who begin life affluent tend to continue being rich, and the opposite holds true."

Comparative Financial Divide

Despite the economic divide growing in specific figures, the percentage of overall assets in the UK held by the wealthiest families – called "comparative financial divide" – has been "broadly stable since the 1980s," per the research.

Throughout these years, complete net worth in the UK surged from thrice the annual GDP, to approximately 7.5x.

Drivers of Financial Divide

So-called "unearned" increases, via rising house prices and variations in pension valuations, were the main drivers of the widening wealth gap over the past decade, according to the report.

These increases tended to accrue to elderly homeowners, the analysis reveals – intensifying the intergenerational wealth divide.

Intergenerational Wealth Disparities

The typical financial disparity between thirty-somethings and sixty-somethings grew by more than 100% in real terms, from 135 thousand pounds in 2006-08, to 310 thousand pounds.

Regional Disparities

There were also significant regional variations, with the median value of wealth in the pandemic period amounting to 290 thousand pounds in south-east England, where property prices have generally grown substantially, versus 110 thousand pounds in the north-east.

Health Crisis Years Impact

During the pandemic, when millions of workers were covered under the taxpayer-backed furlough scheme, and Covid shutdowns curtailed consumption options, the information reveals countless homes were in a position to set aside money, growing their net worth.

Higher-income households performed significantly better, however. "The average household in the lowest-income quintile saw their cash reserves rise by merely £80 over the pandemic period (2019-20 to 2021-22), roughly identical to the 24 months before COVID. On the other hand, the median home in the wealthiest fifth saw their cash reserves grow by 4,200 pounds," the report finds.