Yahoo Finance Queen's Platinum Jubilee: How the Coronation generation is doing financially
The majority of the Platinum Jubilee generation, those born as Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne, enjoyed an income higher than the UK population average, new research shows.
Analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) looked at how the lives of people who turn 70 this year have turned out, examining the social and economic changes that have taken place during the monarch's reign.
According to IFS, those born in 1952 have had average incomes higher than UK population average throughout their lives.
This means that at each point in their lives, they have been on average better off than the average of their fellow citizens. They have also enjoyed substantial income growth over their lifetime.
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However, not all are well off, the think tank said, with 18% in relative income poverty, although even this is lower than national average of 22%.
"This represents another remarkable change," the IFS said. "In 1977, the Silver Jubilee year, those over state pension age were more than twice as likely to be poor than those under state pension age."
Meanwhile, 85% of people born in 1952 own a home, while around one in seven have a second property, meaning most have benefitted from the house price boom that occurred during their working lives.
In 1952, the average property price was £2,000 (around £40,000 in today’s prices), rising to £13,000 by 1977 (about £64,000). The average house price currently stands at a record £250,000.
David Sturrock, senior research economist at IFS, said: "Incomes and house prices have grown dramatically, making this generation the richest to date.
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"These changes reflect some of the big economic and social shifts that have happened in the UK since the 1950s.
"These changes also bring with them challenges, as younger generations are much less likely to be homeowners and face a future in which we aim to rapidly reduce the environmental impact of our economy while providing for an ageing population."
