A nation of paupers

I posted this chart about 6 months ago, but as they say, the old ones are sometimes the best.

As the title suggests, this chart gives a breakdown of savings by households. Just over half of UK families have savings of less than ₤1,500. Only 13 percent have more than ₤20,000. So, it would appear that the vast majority of people have very little to lose, at least in terms of savings, if the UK's equity markets crash and the banks fail.

Up to now, the financial crisis has been a problem for the rich. However, this will change now that the economy is on the slide and unemployment has started to rise.

Here is the thing that bothers me. What happens when people start retiring?

(The data is from the Office of National Statistics, Social Trends. The data refers to 2006).