The UK is a wealthy nation; but that wealth is very unevenly divided, says an October 2017 briefing paper (pdf) from the IPPR Commission on Economic Justice.
Wealth in the twenty-first century (pdf) sets out the main dimensions, effects, and drivers of wealth inequality in the UK. This paper shows how these inequalities exist between individuals and families, between areas of the country, generations and genders, and between people from different ethnicities and class backgrounds.
The briefing paper finds:
- The wealthiest 10 per cent of households own 45 per cent of the nation’s wealth, whilst the least wealthy half of all households own just 9 per cent
- Fewer than half of ‘millennials’ (those born between 1981 and 2000) are expected to own their own home by the age of 45, based on current trends
- Debt is likely to rise faster than disposable income over the next decade. In 2017 prices, household disposable income is forecast to rise by 10.3 per cent by 2027 (from £48,000 to £53,000).