Household debt· Inequality & poverty· Wealth & assets Arrears fears The distribution of UK household wealth and the impact on families 20 July 2022 by Molly Broome and Jack Leslie The defining economic challenge for UK families at the moment is the cost of living crisis, rising inflation threatens living standards in the UK as real incomes fall. Owning wealth helps protect against the adverse effects, particularly for those who can rely on savings. Therefore, the current crisis has thrown wealth inequality into the spotlight. … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Intergenerational Centre Intergenerational rapport fair? Intergenerational wealth transfers and the effect on UK families 3 February 2022 by Jack Leslie and Krishan Shah Intergenerational wealth transfers – both gifts and inheritances – have increasingly become a major feature of UK economic life. These wealth transfers have major impacts on how people live their lives and the opportunities available to them. READ MORE
Pensions & savings· Wealth & assets Wealth on the eve of a crisis Exploring the UK’s pre-pandemic wealth distribution 7 January 2022 by Krishan Shah Today’s release of data from the Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS) gives us a key insight into the financial position of families on the eve of the pandemic. It shows a picture of steady increases in aggregate wealth with households’ net worth standing at £15.2 trillion before the onset of Covid-19. Much is written about … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets Home county Options for taxing main residence capital gains 9 December 2021 by Adam Corlett and Jack Leslie Over the past 30 years, the total value of household wealth in the UK has risen from three times national income to well over seven times. Inflation-beating house price growth and high ownership rates have combined to add around £3 trillion of housing wealth from main residences to that total – accounting for around a … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets (Wealth) gap year The impact of the coronavirus crisis on UK household wealth 12 July 2021 by Jack Leslie and Krishan Shah This report is the second in a series of annual reports analysing the state of wealth in Britain. In it we provide the first complete picture of the impact of the Covid-19 crisis across the entire wealth distribution of the UK, and what it means for living standards. We find that the Covid-19 pandemic is … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Housing· Intergenerational Centre Stakes and ladders The costs and benefits of buying a first home over the generations 26 June 2021 by Lindsay Judge and Jack Leslie Today’s young people often point bitterly to the lower house prices their parents and grandparents paid, while those from older generations look jealously at the low interest rates that first-time buyers now enjoy. So, who has really had the better deal? In this briefing note we assess the costs and benefits of buying one’s first home over the generations. READ MORE
Wealth & assets The UK’s wealth distribution and characteristics of high-wealth households 3 January 2021 by Arun Advani and George Bangham and Jack Leslie Household wealth is profoundly important for living standards but is held very unequally. Official estimates of wealth in the UK underestimate its size – by £800 billion – and also the level of inequality. READ MORE
Pensions & savings· Wealth & assets The Missing Billions 3 January 2021 by Jack Leslie In this spotlight we discuss new research on the size and distribution of UK household wealth. Such wealth matters for living standards, economic opportunity and the ability of families to weather the coronavirus crisis. But it also matters because there is increasing interest in reforming wealth taxes in the UK, not least in the context … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets A gap that won’t close The distribution of wealth between ethnic groups in Great Britain 22 December 2020 by George Bangham The coronavirus pandemic has shone a harsh light on wealth inequality in Britain, with wealth playing an important role shaping families’ experience of the crisis. This briefing examines the gaps in the wealth held by different ethnic groups, and how and why they have evolved over time, finding that very significant ethnicity wealth gaps remain. … Continued READ MORE
Coronavirus· Household debt· Pensions & savings· Wealth & assets Rainy days An audit of household wealth and the initial effects of the coronavirus crisis on saving and spending in Great Britain 22 June 2020 by George Bangham and Jack Leslie Families in Great Britain are faced with the most severe economic contraction in more than 100 years. Much of the immediate focus among policy makers has been on the size and distribution of falls in families’ incomes but household wealth, both savings and debt, will play a hugely important role in shaping how far families’ … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty· Wealth & assets· Tax Who gains? The importance of accounting for capital gains 21 May 2020 by Adam Corlett and Arun Advani and Andy Summers This report looks at what we know about taxable capital gains; how our understanding of top income shares changes if we include capital gains in our analysis; and whether official statistical definitions of income should be changed or supplemented. READ MORE
Household debt· Wealth & assets An outstanding balance? Inequalities in the use – and burden – of consumer credit in the UK 15 January 2020 by Jubair Ahmed and Kathleen Henehan As the 2010s drew to a close, both policymakers and the press raised concerns about rising levels of UK household debt, with some warning it could soon bring about the next recession. Although household debt levels remain high in absolute terms, when compared against total household income they are substantially below levels reached during the … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Pensions & savings· Inequality & poverty· Wealth & assets· Political parties and elections Who owns all the pie? The size and distribution of Britain’s £14.6 trillion of wealth 5 December 2019 by George Bangham and Jack Leslie While incomes have stagnated over the past decade, our national wealth has continued to boom. Data released today put UK households collective wealth at £14.6 trillion. But that total is far from equally distributed: the richest 10 per cent of households own almost half of the nation’s wealth having benefitted most from the recent wealth … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Tax· Political parties and elections The huge Brexit Party tax cut for rich remain areas 16 September 2019 by Adam Corlett and Torsten Bell In this paper we examine the policy of abolishing inheritance tax, the new top priority announced by the Brexit Party. We find that the proposal would amount to an expensive giveaway to a tiny number of very wealthy households, largely living in the richest parts of the country and concentrated in remain voting constituencies. READ MORE
Inequality & poverty· Wealth & assets· Scotland Taking stock Report for the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Commission 30 July 2019 by George Bangham and Lindsay Judge There has been a growing appreciation in recent years that living standards are determined not just by income (the flow of money into a household) but also by wealth (the stock of assets a household owns). Wealth can take various forms: it can be held in financial instruments (for example, a savings account or as … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Housing· Intergenerational Centre Game of Homes: The rise of multiple property ownership in Great Britain 15 June 2019 by George Bangham Additional property wealth is a big deal in Britain today. One-in-nine adults own some, and its combined value is almost £1 trillion. By value, it makes up one-sixth of all property wealth. READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Social mobility· Housing· Intergenerational Centre House of the rising son (or daughter): the impact of parental wealth on their children’s homeownership 4 December 2018 by Stephen Clarke and John Wood The rise of the so-called Bank of Mum and Dad (BOMAD) is much-discussed but until now there has been little analysis of the strength of the relationship between parental support and people’s chances of becoming homeowners. This paper fills this gap: we analyse the association between the property wealth held by people’s parents and their own, stripping out the impact that other factors (earnings, education, etc) have on homeownership. READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Scotland The £1 trillion pie: how wealth is shared across Scotland 22 June 2018 by Conor D’Arcy and Torsten Bell The wealth of Scottish households has grown rapidly in recent years and now exceeds £1 trillion for the first time. But from a living standards perspective, what matters is how that wealth – including property, pensions and savings – is shared. The report explores some of the key inequalities when it comes to wealth in … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Wealth & assets· Intergenerational Centre The new wealth of our nation: the case for a citizen’s inheritance 8 May 2018 by George Bangham This paper makes the case for a citizen’s inheritance – a £10,000 lump-sum payment made available to every young person when they reach the age of 25 – to address some of the key risks they and as part of a policy programme to renew the intergenerational contract that underpins society READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Tax· Intergenerational Centre Passing on: options for reforming inheritance taxation 2 May 2018 by Adam Corlett Inheritances are growing rapidly in importance at the same time as fiscal pressures mount. But the current inheritance tax system manages to raise relatively little while also being especially unpopular. This paper proposes a Lifetime Receipts Tax that would address Inheritance Tax’s problems while also raising more revenue and encouraging individuals to spread their wealth more widely. READ MORE
Monetary policy· Household debt· Wealth & assets· Housing An unhealthy interest? Debt distress and the consequences of raising rates 12 February 2018 by Matthew Whittaker Consumer borrowing has been surging over recent months, raising fears that we are storing up more debt-fuelled problems for tomorrow. This note digs into the numbers and focuses on who is taking out all the credit. We consider also how the profile of the UK’s household debt will stand up to increasing interest rates in the coming years. READ MORE
Living standards· Pensions & savings· Wealth & assets· Intergenerational Centre A welfare generation: lifetime welfare transfers between generations 5 February 2018 by George Bangham and David Finch and Toby Phillips This paper updates John Hills’ seminal research on life-cycle welfare transfers between generations. It estimates the extent to which past and future cohorts contribute to the welfare state via taxation and withdraw from its core pillars – education, health and social security – over the course of their lifetimes. READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Tax· Intergenerational Centre The million dollar be-question: inheritances, gifts, and their implications for generational living standards 30 December 2017 by Laura Gardiner This report assesses the role that intergenerational family transfers – inheritances and gifts – play in Britain. It provides a detailed assessment of past gifts and inheritances, and estimates the timing and distribution of future intergenerational transfers of property wealth to the millennial generation. READ MORE
Pensions & savings· Wealth & assets· Housing· Intergenerational Centre The generation of wealth: asset accumulation across and within cohorts 20 June 2017 by Conor D’Arcy and Laura Gardiner Family wealth in 21st Century Britain is huge and growing, rising from £9.9 trillion before the financial crisis to over £11 trillion in the most recent data – more than six times our national income. Significant increases have come from house price rises in the 1990s and 2000s, followed by major growth in private pension wealth more … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets Hangover Cure: Dealing with the household debt overhang as interest rates rise 24 July 2014 by Matthew Whittaker and Katie Blacklock The UK is entering a period in which interest rates are expected to start rising again – with the first moves potentially coming later this year – having insufficiently dealt with the debt overhang. This leaves the UK economy vulnerable to even modest increases in interest rates. Deconstructing the debt overhang will not be costless, but it is in everyone’s interests – borrowers, lenders, government and taxpayers alike – to adopt a pro-active measured approach rather than simply allowing it to collapse. We favour an orderly and managed dismantling of the debt overhang. This report sets out a series of recommendations for lenders, borrowers and policy-makers to make that happen. READ MORE
