Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS)

Summary

Type of data

Data Source
Survey

Type of Study
Survey same

Data gathering method
Face-to-face

Access to data

Conditions of access
Data are available from the UK Data Service (previously the Economic and Social Data Service, ESDS): http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/ The website contains detailed information on conditions of access, and it is also possible to contact the UK Data Service by phone: +44 (0)1206 872143, or by email: help@ukdataservice.ac.uk

Type of available data (e.g. anonymised microdata, aggregated tables, etc.)
Anonymised microdata

Formats available
Survey data from the UK Data Service are usually available to download in SPSS, Stata and tab-delimited (suitable for use in MS Excel) formats.

Coverage

Coverage Years of collection, reference years, and sample sizes
The Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS) is a longitudinal survey, which aims to address gaps identified in data about the economic wellbeing of households by gathering information on level of assets, savings and debt; saving for retirement; how wealth is distributed among households or individuals; and factors that affect financial planning. Private households in Great Britain were sampled for the survey (meaning that people in residential institutions, such as retirement homes, nursing homes, prisons, barracks or university halls of residence, and also homeless people were not included). The WAS commenced in July 2006, with a first wave of interviews carried out over two years, to June 2008. Interviews were achieved with 30,595 households at Wave 1. Those households were approached again for a Wave 2 interview between July 2008 and June 2010, and 20,170 households took part. The third wave will cover July 2010 - June 2012; currently, only data from Waves 1 and 2 are available from the UK Data Archive. `Note: Older people are represented in this data source (approximately) according to their proportion in the population. In 2011, over one third of the total UK population (and approximately 40 per cent of the adult population 16+) was aged 50 and over.`

First year of collection
2006

Stratification if applicable
The data includes a variety of demographic variables, including age and sex. The sample is stratified.

Base used for sampling

Geographical coverage and breakdowns
Countries (England, Wales, Scotland) Government Office Regions (NUTS1) More detailed spatial data are available under Special License.

Age range
All adults aged 16 years and over (excluding those aged 16-18 currently in full-time education)

Statistical representativeness
Other, please specify

Coverage of main and cross-cutting topics
The economic wellbeing of households is sometimes measured by their income; this ignores the fact that a household's resources can be influenced by their stock of wealth. The increase in home ownership, the move from traditional roles and working patterns, a higher proportion of the population now owning shares and contributing to investment schemes as well as the accumulation of wealth of over the life cycle, particularly through pension participation, have all contributed to the changing composition of wealth. To understand the economic well-being of households it is increasingly necessary to look further than a simple measure of household income. The WAS aims to address gaps identified in data about the economic wellbeing of households by gathering information on, among others, level of assets, savings and debt; saving for retirement; how wealth is distributed among households or individuals; and factors that affect financial planning. The WAS questionnaire was divided into two parts with all adults aged 16 years and over (excluding those aged 16 to 18 currently in full-time education) being interviewed in each responding household. Wave 1 files are provided according to this structure; Wave 2 files are grouped in terms of finance, pensions and property. Household schedule: This was completed by one person in the household (usually the head of household or their partner) and predominantly collected household level information such as the number, demographics and relationship of individuals to each other, as well as information about the ownership, value and mortgages on the residence and other household assets. Individual schedule: This was given to each adult in the household and asked questions about economic status, education and employment, business assets, benefits and tax credits, saving attitudes and behaviour, attitudes to debt, insolvency, major items of expenditure, retirement, attitudes to saving for retirement, pensions, financial assets, non-mortgage debt, investments and other income.

Linkage

Standardisation
There is an ongoing cross-governmental programme of work in the UK which aims to develop and improve standardised inputs and outputs for use in official statistics. This is known as harmonisation, and is led by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). While this work primarily affects government-run surveys, the results have an impact on most national UK data sources. Furthermore, harmonisation has important benefits for all researchers using these surveys, and not just government statisticians. For more information, see: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/harmonisation/harmonisation-index-page/index.html

Possibility of linkage among databases
Data are anonymised

Data quality

Entry errors if applicable
In addition to unit non-response, the data include item non-response and may be subject to other errors that are typical of surveys and censuses. For more information on data quality, see the survey documentation on the UK Data Service website.

Breaks
There are no major breaks for this data source. Further information is not readily available.

Consistency of terminology or coding used during collection
In general, the consistency of this data source is very good. For more information on data quality, see the survey documentation on the UK Data Service website.

Governance

Contact information
Office for National Statistics
Customer Contact Centre
Government Buildings, Cardiff Road
NP10 8XG Newport, South Wales United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0) 1633 455678.
Email: info(at)statistics.gsi.gov.uk
Url: http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/

Timeliness, transparency
Data are available about 12 months after the end of fieldwork