What happens (in the US) when you hit retirement with little or no savings?

When I read articles saying the average retirement account is $40K...I have to wonder what's going to happen with all these retirees in the next 10 years or so. This is the first generation where almost nobody has a pension or company-paid health insurance to fall back on. Is there going to be some sort of massive poverty bubble among seniors, or do we think there will be some sort of public policy that mitigates it? I've been lucky enough to be able to fund my retirement accounts since I started working, but it's going to be very strange to see a much larger number of 65+ people who can't afford to eat or get healthcare.

Maybe the employment laws banning age discrimination will get some teeth in response to people needing to work longer? But even then, you don't necessarily want people working until they drop dead either. What are financial advisors telling clients who don't have the money to make it all the way through retirement?