The exact number of years of saving it would take for the average worker to claw out of the middle-class bracket has been revealed โ and itโs nearly half a century.
Sobering new research from the think tank Resolution Foundation shows that for aspirational Brits looking to move up the wealth ladder, not even a lifetime of savings would be enough.ย
In fact, the average worker would need to save their earnings for 52 years, to raise ยฃ1.3 million ($1.7 million), the amount needed to move from the middle and become as wealthy as the richest 10%.
And it gets worse: Thatโs with zero bills being paid.
โWealth 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,โ Molly Broome, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation and the lead author of the report, wrote.
And for those who happen to be born in the working class, the odds are increasingly stacked against them.ย
โWealth mobility in Britain is low. People that start life wealthy tend to stay wealthy, and vice versa,โ Broome added.
As the saying goes, money makes money. The report revealed that the key driver of widening inequality is the โpassiveโ gains. Essentially, those who bought property and invested their money have seen their wealth balloon since 2010.
Workers in the U.S. would need to save for 70 years to unlock the American Dreamย
As inflation squeezes workers in a cost-of-living vise, paired with a job crisis thatโs not been this bad since the financial crisis, and AI threatening to make it even worse, the salary it takes to be considered rich keeps climbing further out of reach. And the issue is transatlantic.
Even in the U.S., workers say theyโd need at least $2.3 million to feel rich (up $100,000 from two years ago). Meanwhile, separate research highlights theyโd need a staggering $4.4 million to achieve the American Dream โ the house in the suburbs, two children, an annual vacation, and a new car in the driveway.
In fact, Investopedia did the math and calculated that achieving those milestones would cost over $1 million more than most Americans will make in their lifetime.
With median weekly earnings of full-time workers averaging $1,214, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it would take 36 years of full-time work to feel rich with $2.3 million in the bank. Thatโs before a single bill is paid, and still $2.1 million short of affording the American Dream.
It would take the average American worker nearly 70 years without a single expense being paid to reach that $4.4 million benchmark โ far longer than most people will work in a lifetime. And thatโs without even considering inflation, any unexpected financial shocks, or automationโs impact on the future of work.
Written by Orianna Rosa Royle for Fortune as โThe average worker would need to save for 52 years to claw their way out of the middle class and be classified as wealthy, new research revealsโ and republished with permission.
