30th July 2025
Wealth too plays a part in what is ‘enough’. I’m in my sixties, my husband a decade older. We live comfortably on his pension – but we can do so because we own the house we live in; we have never not had enough and so benefit from good health; we both get joy from walking, swimming and cycling; we both have had good educations and appreciate the enjoyment of reading and writing; we have over the years accumulated good quality clothes and shoes and so have little need to spend on what we wear; we have good networks of friends and socialise through activity groups; we have strong family relationships; we are both active church goers. Not all of these are the direct benefits of wealth but wealth has certainly helped shape of lives and health and wellbeing and allows us to do things that bring us joy for free.
Other people of a similar age may not have these benefits nor feel the security net that wealth brings. For them an income that allows for joy in enough would be more than I and my husband need.
The bar chart below shows how disproportionately wealth is spread and the considerable contribution that stems from having property (and that will increase the closer one lives to London or other property hot spots) and having a private pension.
The Green Tau 