Average Briton is now worth around £172,000 as net wealth of UK households climbs to £11.4trillion, ONS reveals
- Net wealth of UK households has climbed to £11.4trillion, up £950billion in 2020
- Increase driven by booming house prices and rises in value of workers’ pensions
- Comes at a time of increasing divide in the UK as Government borrowing soared
British households are sitting on a record pile of wealth, figures have shown.
The net wealth of UK households has climbed to £11.4trillion, up £950billion in 2020, the Office for National Statistics has found.
This means the average Briton is worth around £172,000.
The increase was driven by booming house prices, rises in the value of workers’ pensions and higher savings as wealthier households put money away during the pandemic.
But it comes at a time of increasing divide in the UK, as Government borrowing has soared to support workers.
The net wealth of UK households has climbed to £11.4trillion, up £950billion in 2020, the Office for National Statistics has found
Young people, who make up a large part of the workforce in struggling sectors such as retail and hospitality, have been especially hard hit.
While average UK house prices shot up by 8.1 per cent in 2020, government borrowing is thought to have hit £303.1billion in the year to March 2021 – the highest since records began in 1947.
At the end of March, the public debt hit £2.1trillion, nearly the same size as the entire economy.
Total household wealth of £11.4trillion is four times as high as in 1995, but the cash size of the economy has only risen by 2.5 times.
The increase was driven by booming house prices, rises in the value of workers’ pensions and higher savings as wealthier households put money away during the pandemic
David Sturrock, a senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: ‘The increasing levels of wealth held by older generations and the lack of income growth for younger generations are together driving an inter-generational economic divide.
‘But these trends also mean inheritances are set to become more important in future, widening the gap between those with rich parents and those with poor parents.
‘The growing importance of inherited wealth will be a profound societal shift, and one with worrying consequences for social mobility.’
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