52 years of saving won't get you wealthy

52 years to reach the top 10%

Research from the Resolution Foundation released in October 2025 shows the average British worker would need to save for 52 years to accumulate £1.3 million, the amount needed to join the richest 10%.

“Wealth gaps in Britain are now so large that a typical full-time employee saving all their earnings across their entire working life would still not be able to reach the top of the wealth ladder.”

That's with zero bills being paid

The fifty two year calculation assumes the worker pays no bills, rent, food or other expenses during that entire period, making the real timeline far longer for anyone actually living.

Wealth mobility in Britain is low

Molly Broome, formerly a senior economist at the Resolution Foundation and lead author of the report, noted that people who start life wealthy tend to stay wealthy, and vice versa.

“Wealth mobility in Britain is low. People that start life wealthy tend to stay wealthy, and vice versa.”

Passive gains drive the inequality

The report revealed that those who bought property and invested their money have seen their wealth balloon since 2010, while workers relying on salary alone fall further behind.

American workers face even steeper odds

The average American worker would need to save for nearly 70 years without expenses to reach four point four million dollars, the cost of the American Dream: a suburban house, two children, an annual vacation…