Key facts
- Net worth = total assets minus total liabilities (mortgage, loans, cards)
- ONS wealth statistics measure households in Great Britain, not individuals
- The figures below cover April 2020 to March 2022, so they are historical
- They include property, financial, physical and private pension wealth
What Is Net Worth?
Net worth is simply: Total Assets minus Total Liabilities. Assets include property, savings, pensions, investments, and vehicles. Liabilities include mortgages, loans, credit card balances, and any other debts. A positive net worth means you own more than you owe; a negative net worth (common in early adulthood) means the reverse.
Net Worth Calculator
List your assets and liabilities to calculate your exact net worth and see where you stand.
What the ONS Wealth Statistics Show
The ONS Wealth and Assets Survey is the main official source on household wealth in Great Britain. The three figures below are taken directly from the release covering April 2020 to March 2022. They describe three separate groups of households, so they are reference points, not steps along a path that one household travels.
Selected ONS reference figures, 2020-22
| Population | Median total household wealth |
|---|---|
| All households | £293,700 |
| Household head aged 16 to 24 | £15,200 |
| Household head aged 65 to 74 | £502,500 |
Source: Office for National Statistics, Household total wealth in Great Britain, April 2020 to March 2022. Median total household wealth, Great Britain. The age bands between 16 to 24 and 65 to 74 are not reproduced here because they are not in the figures we have verified, and estimating them would invent data.
How to Read These Figures
Four things change what these numbers mean, and all four are easy to lose when a statistic is quoted on its own.
- Median, not mean. The median is the middle household when every household is ranked. The mean is pulled upwards by a small number of very wealthy households, so it sits well above the median and describes almost nobody. The figures above are medians.
- Household, not individual. Wealth is measured per household and is not split between the adults in it. A couple's household figure is not what each of them holds, so comparing your own personal total against a household median is not a like-for-like comparison.
- A historical period, not today. The data covers April 2020 to March 2022, which is the period the survey was collected, not the year the bulletin was published and not the current year. House prices, markets and interest rates have moved since.
- Pension wealth is modelled. Private pension wealth is the largest and least intuitive component. Defined benefit pensions have no pot to look up, so their value is estimated using actuarial assumptions. Change those assumptions and the totals move, which is why pension wealth figures are not directly comparable with a bank balance.
What Makes Up Household Wealth
The ONS measure adds up four components, and the same four are the ones to list when you work out your own position:
- Property wealth: the value of any property you own, less the outstanding mortgage. For most owners this is the largest single line.
- Private pension wealth: defined contribution pots at their fund value, plus the estimated value of any defined benefit entitlement. Often overlooked because it is invisible until retirement.
- Financial wealth: savings accounts, ISAs and investments, less financial debts such as credit cards and personal loans. The most liquid part.
- Physical wealth: vehicles, household contents and valuables. Hard to value precisely and rarely worth agonising over.
Working Out Your Own Position
Rather than measuring yourself against a national median for a different population and a different period, track your own figure over time. The method is the same every year:
- List each asset at a defensible value: a recent property valuation, current pension statements, account balances.
- List each debt at its outstanding balance, including the mortgage, loans and card balances.
- Subtract the second total from the first. That number, and its direction of travel, is what matters.
- Repeat once or twice a year, for example when your annual mortgage and pension statements arrive.
Use the net worth calculator to do the arithmetic and keep the components separate, so you can see whether a change came from paying down debt, from markets, or from a property revaluation.
Retirement Income Sits Behind the Number
A net worth figure says nothing on its own about the income it can produce. The UK State Pension (currently £12,548/year for the full new State Pension) provides a guaranteed income floor on top of private savings. See our State Pension UK guide for the weekly amount, qualifying years, and how to check your forecast. A couple with two full State Pensions receives about £25,095/year before drawing a penny of private savings.Renters and Homeowners
Property is one of the four wealth components, so whether you own affects how your total is built rather than whether you can build one. A mortgage converts monthly payments into equity, which is a form of forced saving, and rent does not. That is a structural difference, not a judgement about which is better for any individual: the deposit, the transaction costs and the flexibility all cut the other way.
Renters build net worth through the other three components instead, mainly pension contributions and invested savings. The practical point is to direct the money that would otherwise service a mortgage somewhere it compounds over time, rather than letting it drift into spending.
How to Improve Your Net Worth at Any Age
Net worth grows through two levers: increasing assets and reducing liabilities. The most impactful actions by age:
| Age Group | Highest Impact Actions |
|---|---|
| 20s | Clear high-interest debt; maximise employer pension matching; build emergency fund |
| 30s | Increase pension contributions; consider property; avoid lifestyle inflation |
| 40s | Mortgage overpayments; maximise ISA allowance; review pension projections |
| 50s | Catch-up pension contributions (carry forward unused allowance); reduce debt ahead of retirement |
| 60s+ | Consider deferring the State Pension; tax-efficient drawdown planning; estate planning |
The Pension Carry-Forward Rule
You can contribute up to £60,000/year to a pension (2026/27 annual allowance). If you have not used your full allowance in the previous 3 tax years, you can carry it forward, potentially contributing up to £200,000 in a single year and getting tax relief at your marginal rate. This is particularly valuable for higher earners in their 50s catching up on retirement saving.Related Calculators
Frequently Asked Questions
ONS figures for April 2020 to March 2022 put median total wealth for all households in Great Britain at £293,700. That is the middle household, measured per household rather than per person, and it includes property, financial, physical and private pension wealth. The mean is higher than the median because a small number of very wealthy households pull the average up.
No. They describe what households held in a past period, not what an individual should have saved. They are also household totals rather than individual ones, so comparing your personal net worth against them is not like-for-like. A sensible target depends on your housing costs, your retirement plans and when you want to stop working.
Yes, and in the ONS measure private pension wealth is one of the four components alongside property, financial and physical wealth. A defined contribution pot counts at its current fund value. A defined benefit pension has no pot to look up, so its value is modelled using actuarial assumptions, which is why pension wealth is an estimate rather than a balance.
Add up all your assets (property value, pension pots, savings, investments, car, valuables) and subtract all debts (mortgage balance, credit cards, student loans, personal loans). The result is your net worth. Track it annually to measure financial progress.
UK wealth is heavily concentrated at the top. A small number of very wealthy households pull the mean (average) far above what most households hold. The median, the middle value when all households are ranked, is a better benchmark for typical households.
The figures quoted here were collected between April 2020 and March 2022. That is the survey period, not the publication year and not the current year, so treat them as historical context. Property values, investment markets and interest rates have all moved since the data was collected.
The ONS measure combines four components: property wealth net of mortgage debt, private pension wealth, financial wealth such as savings and investments net of financial debt, and physical wealth such as vehicles and household contents. Listing the same four is the simplest way to work out your own position.
Once or twice a year is enough for most people, for example after your annual mortgage statement and pension statement arrive. Tracking quarterly is useful if you are actively paying down debt or building investments. The goal is to spot trends, not to obsess over short-term market moves.
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James Hartley founded WhatsUK to build free UK financial calculators and guides checked against official HMRC sources. He authors calculators and articles on WhatsUK.
Sources & Official References
- ONS - Household total wealth in Great Britain: April 2020 to March 2022- Median total household wealth figures quoted in the reference table, Great Britain, April 2020 to March 2022
- HMRC - Pension Annual Allowance- £60,000 annual allowance and carry-forward rules 2026/27
- GOV.UK - The new State Pension- Full new State Pension amount and deferral
Last verified:
Disclaimer: This calculator provides estimates based on standard HMRC rates for 2026/27. Results may vary based on individual circumstances. This is not financial advice. Always consult a qualified accountant or CIMA-qualified financial adviser for personal tax matters.