Many families relied on house price rises to protect their wealth through the recession, figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggest.
Having failed to build up their money reserves before the crisis, the average family's savings rose from just £750 to £1,100 in real terms between 2000 and 2005.
Lower-income and younger households had the lowest level of savings levels during the period.
Some 60% of families had less than the equivalent of a quarter of their annual earnings set aside.
The group, which analysed data from the British Household Panel Survey, said there were substantial variations in savings levels across the population.
It said in 2005, the richest 25% of households had savings averaging £16,000, while the richest 10% had just under £60,000 set aside.
Unsurprisingly, wealth tended to rise as people got older, up to the age of 75, with families where the head was aged under 45 having average savings levels of close to zero.
People aged between 55 and 59 in 2000 saved an average of 5% of their income annually in the five years to 2005, compared with those aged under 25 and over 75, who typically saved nothing, while other age groups saved less than 1% of their annual pay.
But families who owned their home saw substantial jumps in their wealth during the period through house price rises.
Copyright Press Association 2010
