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Per new research, the median employee in the UK would require over five decades of income to attain the wealth level of the wealthiest 10% in the country.

Expanding Wealth Gap Over Time

The study analyzed net worth information including the recent health crisis years and determined that back in 2006-08, it would have needed 38 years' worth of average worker salary to join the wealthiest decile of the economic ladder.

A senior economist associated with the study commented: "Wealth gaps in Britain are now so large that a typical full-time employee accumulating their complete salary across their entire working life would remain unable to attain the highest level of the wealth ladder."

Assessing the Financial Disparity

The study revealed that the disparity between the net worth of the average person and someone in the top 10% was £1 million in 2006-08, but had expanded to £1.3 million in inflation-adjusted terms by the pandemic years.

The researcher continued: "These gaps are doubly concerning as financial progression in Britain is limited – individuals who begin life well-off tend to stay wealthy, and conversely applies."

Proportional Economic Disparity

Even with the wealth gap expanding in specific figures, the share of total wealth in the UK possessed by the wealthiest families – called "comparative financial divide" – has been "mostly consistent since the 1980s era," per the analysis.

Throughout these years, complete net worth in the UK rose substantially from thrice the yearly economic output, to almost 7.5 times.

Factors of Financial Divide

Termed "unearned" gains, through growing real estate costs and adjustments to pension valuations, were the primary factors of the widening wealth gap since 2010, according to the analysis.

These gains typically went to senior citizens with real estate, the study demonstrates – exacerbating the age-based economic gap.

Generational Financial Divides

The average wealth gap between people in their early 30s and sixty-somethings increased over twofold in real terms, from £135k in pre-financial crisis, to £310,000.

Area-Based Variations

There were also significant geographic differences, with the median value of net worth in recent years reaching £290,000 in south-east England, where property prices have generally grown substantially, versus 110 thousand pounds in the northeastern region.

COVID Era Consequences

During the pandemic, when millions of workers were protected by the taxpayer-backed furlough scheme, and health crisis restrictions curtailed consumption options, the statistics indicate many households were able to save, growing their net worth.

More affluent homes performed significantly better, nevertheless. "The average household in the bottom income bracket saw their liquid savings rise by merely £80 during the COVID years (2019-20 to 2021-22), broadly the same as the pre-crisis period. Conversely, the typical family in the wealthiest fifth saw their available funds grow by 4,200 pounds," the study reveals.