With the cost of living soaring and the UK economy on the brink of a double-dip recession, many middle-class Britons have been forced to eat into their cherished nest eggs to bankroll the lifestyle they've come to expect.
But experts are warning they 'must stop living beyond their means', leave their savings alone, and cut costs instead.
A weighty report last week showed that many over 55s have resorted to desperate measures, dipping into savings 'that would otherwise have been used for retirement income.'
Almost two thirds of over 55s admit that the soaring cost of living in Britain has made them worried about supporting their usual day-to-day needs, the research by insurance giant Aviva showed.
Worryingly, one in five is still paying off a mortgage at an average size of £60,440.
And when you take all the costs associated with mortgages into account, inflation in the UK is currently 4.7% (RPI).
It's far above the return available on High Street savings accounts. According to Moneyfacts.co.uk, the average instant access account pays just 0.77%, the average Isa pays 2.15% and the average one-year bond just 2.59%. It means money saved is losing its purchasing power.
As the price of food and utility bills in particular rises, affluent middle class Britons are freezing their saving plans and spending money that in better times would have been stashed away.
Even the richest, mass affluent savers aren't contributing enough to pensions to meet their retirement needs, a separate report claims.
Around two in three over 60s will fall short of their expectations in retirement, pensions and insurance firm Sun Life says. This is partly because the rate on annuities - the insurance product bought by most retirees that provides a lifetime income - have fallen to an all-time low.
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George Ladds, of Fair Investment Company, says: 'People are not just tapping their rainy day funds, these are long term savings that are being hit, and that is simply not sustainable.
'Like the Government, families need to tighten their belts and find ways to cut expenditure rather than continue to put such massive strains on their finances.
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The trouble, Ladds says, is that we live in a 'buy now pay later' society where a 'whole generation of people think they should be able to have whatever they want, even if they can't afford it'.
He says: 'People need to understand that they have to live within their means, because eventually, it will catch up with them, and it is easier to do something about it now that have to deal with the consequences later.'
The findings backed up a similar study by investment firm Schroders in August, which showed almost a third of Britons have tapped into their stored cash over the past year, withdrawing an average of £4,600 each.
Aviva said its calculations for the over 55s showed many admitting to being thrown off by 'unexpected expenses' over the last five years and dipping into funds as a result.
Dr. John Strain of lobby group Save Our Savers says Britain's savers have been let down by a lack of government support.
'Over the last two decades, Britain's once healthy savings culture has been all but destroyed,' he says. 'Successive governments have neglected, obstructed and at times directly attacked the interests of responsible savers.'
In particular, savers have forsaken personal pensions because they've been 'persistently poleaxed by poor policymaking and ham-fisted means-testing', he says.
According to comprehensive research by Bacs, the automated payment specialist, just 12% of adults have a regular personal pension commitment.
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