The solution, he suggests, is a more rigid emphasis on auto-enrollment and auto-escalation, two systems which can more painlessly help timid savers become more fully vested.

Benartzi's math, part of his 2012 book "Save More Tomorrow: Practical Behavioral Finance Solutions to Improve 401(k) Plans," calls for some lofty but important goals: 90 percent of America's employees should be saving and those savings levels should be at least 10 percent of their income. And 90 percent should simply let professionals construct their portfolios, creating a significant opportunity for advisors.

"In every other complex area of expertise in life, you're not left to do it on your own, but this is what's happened to retirement planning in America," he noted. "We're asking the person making coffee at Starbucks to make their own portfolio decisions."

One key to more well-rounded participation, he said, comes in the example of organ donor programs. Countries which have automatic programs which require participants to opt out have much more successful systems; the same logic could vastly improve plan participation.

As he demonstrated, deferral rates should also be set higher and increased as much as possible – once enrolled, most participants don't notice the difference in their paychecks, and the impact on their accounts can be much more significant.

There's also the issue of changing people's mindset on the process of saving for a nebulous future, a stigma that advisors need to help address, both with participants and plan sponsors.

"Retirement savings is like putting your money aside for a stranger to enjoy – you really have no idea what you'll be like in 30 years, or what your needs will be. So we need to figure out ways to make savings never feel like a loss. People need to save, they need to save more, and they need to save smarter. We just need to figure out how to make it easy."

Stig Nybo, president of Transamerica Retirement Services, echoed Benartzi's sentiments and added that Americans could also benefit from a national public service campaign to raise national consciousness about the retirement savings crisis.

"We have a tremendous opportunity to change people's beliefs," Nybo said. "And we have to be aware of the hidden risk that if we don't figure out this issue for ourselves, someone will step in and screw it all up for us."

Nybo also posed the question many in the industry may be asking themselves.

"How did we become the culprit for all of this crisis? Why do we keep being asked, 'why have you not figured this all out for us?' People expect us to provide the best solution."

On the upside, Nybo said he's encouraged by news that more than 50 percent of new participants in 401(k) plans are now going into target-date funds from the outset.