This week is America Saves Week, a time to focus on actions Americans can take to successfully save.  When it comes to saving for retirement, Americans are feeling pessimistic.

In a recent nationwide survey of working age Americans,  79 percent agree that the nation faces a retirement savings crisis, up from 67 percent in 2020. And more than half of Americans (55 percent) are concerned that they cannot achieve financial security in retirement.

the data indicate that Americans’ worries indeed are justified. The reality is that retirement security is out of reach for far too many Americans. Most Americans, particularly middle-class workers, are falling far short when it comes to saving enough money for a financially secure retirement. According to the National Retirement Risk Index, half of U.S. households will not be able to maintain their standard of living when they retire even if they were to work until age 65 and annuitize all their financial assets.

Read the latest Forbes column by Dan Doonan, executive director of the National Institute on Retirement Security.