• Since the mid-1980s, the share or wealth held at the top of the distribution has been fairly stable, with the richest tenth of families consistently owning about half of total wealth.
• Total household wealth holdings have increased in value from around three-times national income in the 1980s to closer to eight-times.
• In 2006, the average family in the richest tenth of families had wealth of close to £900,000 more per adult than a family in the fifth decile – by the start of 2020, that gap had increased to over £1.2 million per adult.
• Rising asset prices have benefitted wealthier families most: a family at the 80th percentile has seen real wealth increase by 37 per cent between 2006-08 and 2018-20.
• Low-income families are far more vulnerable to the cost of living crisis due to the absence of a savings buffer: the lowest income tenth of families were four-times more likely to have no savings than the richest tenth.
• 32 per cent of families with no savings say they will need to rely on family and friends to cope with income shocks compared to 3 per cent of families with savings in excess of one month’s income.
• Bill arrears are strongly concentrated among low-income families: in 2018-20, 8.9 per cent of financial liabilities (excluding student loans and mortgages) were bill arrears for the lowest income tenth of families but 0.3 per cent top tenth.