Would you class this family as average, comfortable or well off?

[Greyorcream]

Curious what people would class as “well off” these days?

Couple in late 30s with 2 dc (late primary/early secondary age). Not in London.
Partner A earns £52k and Partner B earns £74k. So fairly average wage. Neither majorly stressful roles. Both work full time. Home by 5 each evening. Both can wfh 2 days a week.

Both get annual bonuses of around 8% and usually salary increases of about 4% each year.

Mortgage outstanding is £339k on a house worth around £500k (5-bedroom house).

Pension contributions (employee + employer combined):

• Partner A: 17% (this will be increasing)
• Partner B: 21%

Savings:
usually save a third of income each month.

• £130k joint savings
• £40k saved separately for the dc.

No inheritance or family help received. No loans, car finance, credit card debt or student loans.
No childcare or private school costs.
Lifestyle-wise, usually one big family holiday a year plus a couple of weekends away.

Would you consider this comfortably well off, average, affluent, or something else? Genuinely interested as perceptions seem wildly different depending on area and social circle.

Oh tedious drip feed.

@Greyorcream oh I see now.

You've got a 'Dad' problem - what you need to do is ignore what he says and don't let it bother you.

You are the grown up now with your own family and you don't need to impress him.

You're HENRYs.

High Earners, Not Rich Yet.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 this made me laugh…guess my dads name!?

Then your dad is deluded in one direction and you are deluded in another.

You sound like you have a nice life, enjoy it.

I'd say they're very comfortable. And extremely lucky to work in well paid jobs that aren't stressful and offer both bonuses and annual pay rises!

I'd imagine that's in the top 20% of household incomes at least so pretty wealthy.

Very well off.

Most households I know personally are a combined less than £45k (most being sub £30k) yearly income and no savings.

I see widespread poverty and people going hungry on a daily basis.

We have a much smaller household income than you and I class us as very comfortable. You father is talking rubbish.

🙄

No it’s way above average and makes me feel rubbish to be honest.

I can see where your dad is coming from.

The reality is that even accounting for inflation, incomes need to be far higher now than they were a generation ago to achieve a similar lifestyle.

You pretty much need 2 incomes to achieve the same living standards of 30 years ago. Back then a postman could buy a house, and fund a family on one income. Now that would be impossible, you’d need both parents to earn the same to be able to lead an equivalent lifestyle.

A doctor in the 90’s could buy a large house, a decent car, have nice holidays and send 2/3 kids to private school. If you want to do that these days you need both mum and dad to be doctors.

The result is that far fewer households are wealthy or even have a decent standard of living. Simply using averages as a guide is pointless as the majority of those on even above average income still don’t have anything approaching a well off existence.

I love these threads as most people earn a pittance and get very offended when someone else earns more. I understand many people live hand to mouth and are struggling, but many people are not. TBH, when I was late 30's my household, of two adults and a preschooler, income was approx. 180k and we spent most of it on a mortage, bills, nursery fees. 10 years later we earn around 30k less, but are mortgage free, no nursery or school fees, have high 3 figures saved. This to me is totally normal in my friendship group, some earn much more. Life can be shite without money, but its not a race to the bottom every single time we have a thread like this.

Sounds good to me op, you're doing very well well done. The only thing I'd add (assuming you max out your S&S ISAs each year), is that I'd take the big savings pot and put most of it into a mutual fund index tracker. Obv keep some e.g. 20k in a savings account for a rainy day. You can choose the risk level of this tracker depending on how you feel about risk.

eta - hope the 40k for the DC is in an eg. Junior ISA or similar

If you have your health, and are content, then you are extremely well off OP.

How much do you think a ‘teachers pension’ is worth monthly? I’m 61 and have been teaching full time since 2000. My monthly teacher pension is £985…so until I get my state pension at 67 this wouldn’t be enough to live on! My rent is £850 (small 2-bed terrace!)

That's a good pension. To buy an annuity paying this amount on the same terms as the TPS from your age you'd need a pot of about £250k.

I think it should be enough to retire on. I have a public sector pension and don’t even need to give retirement a second thought. I know the teacher pension isn’t as high as mine, but I’ve never heard of a teacher feeling unable to retire (at retirement age at least, I appreciate it must be a challenging career to do 60+) my teacher MIL ended up earning more in retirement, but appreciate the pension will likely have changed.

I popped the OP's post into Gemini....

1. Income Analysis
While the poster describes £52k and £74k as "fairly average," the statistics tell a different story:

• Household Income: A combined £126k (excluding bonuses) puts this household in the top 5–7% of earners in the UK.
• Regional Context: Since they are not in London, the purchasing power of £126k is significantly higher. In many parts of the UK, this income allows for a lifestyle that the vast majority of the population cannot access.
• Bonuses/Increases: Guaranteed 8% bonuses and 4% raises provide a financial cushion that protects against inflation better than the average UK wage growth.

1. The "Wealth" Factor (Assets & Savings)

This is where the family separates itself from those who are merely "comfortable":

• Savings: Having £130k in liquid savings plus £40k for the children is exceptional. The average UK household has less than £10k in accessible savings.
• Pension Contributions: Combined contributions of 17% and 21% are very high. This suggests they are not just living well now, but are on track for an affluent retirement.
• Equity: They have roughly £161k in equity in a 5-bedroom home. While the mortgage is large (£339k), their ability to save one-third of their income suggests the monthly payment is not a strain.

1. Debt and Liabilities

The most striking part of this profile is the total absence of "lifestyle debt."

• No car finance, no credit card debt, and no student loans (which can take a £400–£800 bite out of monthly take-home pay for many professionals) means their "disposable" income is far higher than a typical family on the same salary.

1. Comparison Table (attached)

Why "Comfortably Well Off" instead of just "Average"?
The term "average" is often misused in these discussions to mean "people like us in our social circle." Statistically, an average UK family would struggle to save £100 a month, let alone one-third of a six-figure income.
The Verdict

• Average? No. They are significantly above average in every metric.
• Comfortable? Yes, but this feels like an understatement given their £130k safety net.
• Well Off? Yes. They have high incomes, high equity, massive savings, and a work-life balance that allows them to enjoy it.

The only thing keeping them from being "wealthy/affluent" in the traditional sense is the £339k mortgage debt and the fact that they still rely on employment income. However, relative to the rest of the country, they are in a very enviable position.

You don’t mention where you are based? In London that wouldn’t be particularly wealthy, but may well be for your locale.

Very well off, above average

I also wonder how accurate your figures are. I have an LGPS pension from early on in my career (over a period of about 4 years), I was a low earner and even part time for most of it, including maternity leave, I have still managed to accrue to equivalent of £2000 a year, so your figure seems quite low to me.

Average wages...this place is like another realm sometimes!

Not according to what I found on Google, but both salaries are still higher than the value you are saying. Do you have any idea what difference an extra £3k-£4K could make to people earning less than this? My pay rise this year was £5 a week. £260 a year. The increased fuel cost I’ve had since February is more than the pay rise I’ve had.

I can only assume you must be a higher earner yourself, or you wouldn’t think that much over “average” per year is only a little over it not unusually high.

Her pension is £985 per month!