Top 10% have more financial wealth than the rest combined - TUC

27 Jan 2025 11:56 AM

New analysis by the TUC published recently (Friday) – based on the latest household wealth figures – reveals that the top 10% of households have more financial wealth than the other 90% combined.  

• New figures show need for economic reset to depart from broken model which saw insecure work explode and living standards decline, TUC says

While the top 10% have financial wealth greater than the rest combined, many households struggle to save anything at all.  

One in five have negative net financial wealth, which means their debts exceed any financial wealth they have.

The TUC says this shows the urgent need for an economic reset, which the Employment Rights Bill will help to deliver by tackling the scourge of insecure work and making work pay.

Under the Conservative real wages grew by just 0.3% a year - compared to 1.5% from 1997 to 2010.

The TUC estimates that the average worker would be £117 a week better off had pay increased since 2010 at the same pace as between 1997 and 2010.

Pay growth during Conservative-led government from 2010-2024 was worse than for any other period of government since the 1920s. The same government also has the worst record on living standards since records began in 1955.

At the same time, the number of people in insecure work soared by 1 million between 2011 and 2023 to 4.1 million.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak recently said:  

“We need an economy that delivers better living standards and security for all – not just those at the top.

“Under the Conservatives, the wealthiest feathered their nests while working people suffered an epidemic of insecure work and the worst pay crisis in two centuries.

“And many households have struggled to save anything at all. That’s not right.

“It’s time to move away from the broken economic model which saw insecure work explode and living standards squeezed.

“That’s why the Government’s Employment Rights Bill is so important – it will help deliver the economic reset working people desperately need.”

Notes to editors:

• The TUC analysis is based on the latest figures  from ‘Household total wealth in Great Britain: April 2020 to March 2022’
• ‘Financial wealth’ means the value of savings or investments minus financial liabilities
• About the TUC: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together the 5.5 million working people who make up our 48 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.

Contacts:

TUC press office  
media@tuc.org.uk   
020 7467 1248