The published top-10% threshold was £1,200,500. A household with £1 million sat below it.
ONS · April 2020–March 2022. These are historical estimates; accreditation was suspended from Round 8 in June 2025 because of quality concerns.
What is inside the million?
Consider a fictional household with £450,000 of property equity, £450,000 in private pension wealth, £70,000 in savings and investments, and £30,000 of vehicles and belongings. With no other debt, that adds to £1 million.
Most of that total is tied to a home and retirement provision. Calling it a million pounds of spending money would be an impressive accounting error.
One household may contain several adults
The source measures the household’s combined wealth. A couple with a jointly owned home is counted as one household. It cannot tell us where a single person’s liquid investment portfolio ranks.
Why pensions complicate it
A defined contribution pension has a pot value. A defined benefit pension provides an entitlement that the ONS values using a model. The survey’s pension methodology changed for the 2020–22 publication, so comparisons with older figures need care.
Leaving pensions out of your own figure and comparing it with a total that includes pensions will understate your position. Entering a year’s pension income as the capital value has the same problem.
Is £1 million enough?
“Enough” needs a spending plan, a time horizon and a view of risk. This page answers a ranking question. It does not establish a safe retirement income or how long a portfolio would last.