"This economy taught Americans to spend less and save more," said Dan Houston, president of retirement and investor services at the Principal Financial Group. "It's crucial that we don't forget those lessons and continue to save responsibly for the long term."

Further, when asked what keeps them awake at night, 44 percent of workers responded that concern over being able to afford/pay for the basic necessities prevents them from sleeping soundly. Another 41 percent worry about maintaining the same quality of life.

The Principal Financial Well-Being Index, which surveys both American workers at growing businesses with 10 to 1,000 employees and retired Americans, is released quarterly by the Principal Financial Group® and commissioned by Harris Interactive®.

Retirement Confidence Improves More workers say that their retirement balances are rising or at least no longer declining. According to the survey findings, the percentage of workers who say their balance is the same or higher than it was on Jan. 1, 2008, has doubled from last quarter (18 percent vs. 9 percent). The percentage of workers who feel it will take less than two years to recover has increased significantly from last quarter (16 percent vs. 11 percent).

"While our economy still has a long way to fully recover, there are many positive signs that retirement portfolios have started to rebound nicely," Houston said. "Workers and retirees have not given up on their investments and retirement strategies and are holding steady."

Some workers are taking action to help rebuild their retirement balance more quickly. The survey found 11 percent of workers have actually increased the amount they are contributing to their 401(k)s.

Have a Plan for Retirement? Retirees Say Plan Early and Often Most workers (83 percent) say they do not have a plan for the transition to retirement, and of those workers who do have a plan, approximately four in 10 (43 percent) have an actual written plan. "Having a proper plan in place is just as important as saving for retirement," Houston said. "Without a plan or any knowledge of what your life will be like after working, you can't effectively save for what you will need."

Many retirees wish they had planned and saved earlier.