Assurance - MAS

With the collasped of Lehman, alot of investors in sg is being affected. I read one article from Straits Time, an old lady lost $100,000 of her life-saving. It was heart-wrenching. She's old and all her life-saving all gone.
What I learned from news were that those investors appealed to MAS for help in regard to their investment in Lehman. But despite assurance from MAS, they were still upset. I guessed it's emotion, especially for those above 55. They are the vulnerable type, and the money supposingly is meant for their retirement. I can symapathize that.
I learned they even went to see their MP for solution. With all the downturn of the economic worldwide, who can blame them for their jittery. If I were in their shoes, I might do that too.
How long is the recession going to last, and how bad it's going to be? All I can see is that it's going to be worse, Asia market is only seeing the beginning of the downturn.