In the UK (especially the south east) PAYE earnings seem to increasingly play little part in overall wealth and what matters more of background/family wealth and increasingly the only path to a comfortable middle class life is via inheritance.
I am a late millennial of the south east whose parents own a very average home worth £1 million which under current rules I should inherit tax free. It's a similar story for almost all of my friends (amount almost equivalent of a lottery win). My parents were not even very middle class and had average jobs, they have just got lucky through house price inflation. Its not often spoken about, but I can foresee a wave of very wealthy millennials emerging in the next 15-20 years, and increasingly it wont really matter what someone earns in their day job, the biggest determinant of wealth will be those who are lucky enough to inherit.
Some millennials might even inherit large sums 2 or 3 times via grandparents, and inheriting from parents on both sides of the couple.
Will the government eventually start taxing inheritance more or what will the future look like in this area?