The number of UK millennial and generation Z millionaires has doubled from 1,000 to 2,000 within a year according to research by Bowmore Wealth Group.

Bowmore’s research also shows a 28% increase in millennial and Gen Z taxpayers declaring income over £150,000 to 50,000 individuals.

It compares to 39,000 the previous year.

A sharp increase in pay for workers in the tech/fintech sector is the main reason for this jump in high-earning millennials.

Another explanation is the boom in millennial entrepreneurship and high paid areas of financial services such as private equity.

Bowmore Wealth Group chief executive officer Mark Incledon says: “Millennials are earning more than ever before.

“Millennials have continued to be attracted towards starting up their own businesses. This is partly because of high-profile success stories from their generation.”

These success stories include Gymshark founder Ben Francis and Kristo Käärmann, founder and chief executive of money company TransferWise.

Bowmore says there is also an increasing number of high earners at a younger age in other areas. That includes among others footballers and social media influencers.

“During lockdown we’ve seen that more millennials are considering their financial future and putting money to work by investing.

“Instead of putting all their assets into risky assets like cryptocurrencies or meme stocks, it’s fundamentally important they follow simple, straight forward steps when investing.

“This includes having a diversified portfolio across geographies, sectors and asset classes.

“They also mustn’t forget to take advantage of the various tax reliefs while they are still available.

“There is still the threat of tax changes to recoup Covid-related spending, which leaves the future of some tax reliefs hanging in the balance.”

In contrast, the number of high-earning baby boomers decreased in the same period.

The number of baby boomer taxpayers declaring income of over £150,000 and over £1m has hit a five-year low.

In total, 6,000 baby boomers declared income over £1m in the most recent year. This is down from 7,000 the previous year.

About 120,000 baby boomers declared income over £150,000. This is down from 131,000 the previous year and again a five-year low.

For Bowmore, this could be due to an acceleration in the number of baby boomers retiring. In fact, many chose to leave the job market during the pandemic and start their retirement earlier.

Bowmore encourages high-earning millennials to make a conscious effort to save for retirement and maximise their use of tax reliefs.

It believes millennials’ earnings may prove to be more volatile than previous generations. This is particularly due to millennials’ tendency to switch jobs.

Bowmore also suggests to high-earners with a higher risk appetite to consider using tax reliefs by investing in growth companies through venture capital trusts (VCTs).

As of 21 February 2022, £812m has been invested in VCTs this financial year.

Although it is an all-time record, experts believe VCTs could hit the £1bn mark before the end of the tax year.