Why don't the British save? The positive interpretation, if there is one at all, would be to say the British are at least realistic. The results might sound negative, but perhaps they could be evidence of the fact that as a nation we're getting to grips with what lengthy retirements actually cost. We realise we cannot expect to work for 40 years and then retire for another 40, even in a low inflation environment, without making vast provision. The state pension accounts for 40pc of today's retired population's income. Given all this, why aren't we saving more? Some of those who took to telegraph.co.uk to voice their opinions said the welfare state was to blame. Their argument was that even if it was inadequate now, and likely to become more so in future, the existence of a state pension lulled people into thinking they'd get by. In fact there is little evidence to support the theory. Savings ratios - which measure the proportion of income a population saves - do not tend to follow a pattern in different countries according to the level of national pension provision. Thus Britain's savings ratio tends to be consistently lower, say, than France's - but the ratio in the US is far lower still. There have to be other reasons. One factor could be our lack of trust in financial institutions - our campaigns on pension reform and charges highlight this (see page 1). Another could be easy access to credit. What Britain and the US have in common, for instance - less shared with other European countries - are highly developed markets for credit cards and mortgages, and a culture of borrowing, releasing equity from property, and so on. The Office for National Statistics said we now save less than at any point since the onset of the crisis. This could be due to rising living costs coupled with wage freezes. Or, more ominously, it could be due to increased availability of credit as banks start to lend again into the recovery. One consequence of insufficient saving was highlighted by many readers: the risk of a growing split between well-off pensioners and those who struggle. As we report on page 8, many people - a large number of whom are public servants - do have large pension pots, and they are increasingly subject to tax. The debates around how we pay for retirement - and who pays the most - are becoming more bitter as well as more urgent.