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The share of households where the household reference person is aged under 35 has been declining since 2018 whereas the share of older households, aged 65 and over, has been increasing. In 2018, households aged 65 and older made up 23.2% of all households but in 2023 that has risen to 25.6%. This is in line with CSO population projections where in 2013, 12.3% of the population were aged 65 and over compared with 15.3% in 2023. As wealth accumulates with age, having more older households can result in higher net wealth at a national level but this effect can hide trends that are occurring for younger households. See figure 7.1 and PxStat table HFC2039.
Households where the reference person was aged over 65 continued to have the highest net wealth in 2023. Households where the reference person was aged under 35 were the only ones, in terms of age, to have seen a drop in their median net wealth since 2020. For these households, median net wealth decreased from €27,600 in 2020 to €23,400 in 2023, a 15% drop. The age group that saw the biggest percentage increase in median net wealth since 2020 were aged 35 to 44, where a 59% rise was seen. See figure 7.2, table 7.1 and PxStat table HFC2039.
In 2023, seven out of every ten households (71%) where the reference person was 65 and older had a net wealth value greater than the national median value (i.e. they are in the top 50% of net wealth), compared with 70% in 2020. This contrasts with households where the reference person was younger than 35 as only 12% of these were in the top 50% for household net wealth, compared with 18% in 2020. See figure 7.3 and PxStat table HFC2061.
Income, spending and wealth - how does your household compare?
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