The Obama administration and the retirement industry have talked about implementing a payroll deduction IRA that wouldn't cost employers much to implement but would help employees put money away for retirement. Some states are implementing their own plans, like California, which allows the government to provide the framework for offering retirement plans at work and the industry can do the rest.                        

"We're in the mindset that the momentum is there. There's a lot of support. If we had an administration change we would have had to start over," he said.

Eleven other states are proposing state-run systems or including private industry options to help smaller employers offer retirement plans. Parks believes that 2013 will see more movement on this front, either at the state or federal level.

The second obstacle to saving more for retirement is participation. The industry already has started offering automatic enrollment as a way to get new employees to participate in their retirement plans. Eighty percent of auto enrolled participants stick with it, compared to 20 percent who opt out, Parks said. He believes that auto enrollment will become even more important moving forward and hopes to see more plans offering auto enrollment in 2013.

Not saving enough for retirement is another obstacle. That's why automatic escalation features are becoming more popular.

"In retirement savings there are three things you can control: 1. How much you save; 2. You can control how much you are needing or spending in retirement to a certain degree, although you don't know your health care costs; and 3. The rate of return that you are planning on getting to get you there," Parks said. "Straight savings is not nearly enough. People need to save more and bet less on their rate of return."

People should not expect market returns to get them where they need to be. The stock market has been so volatile the past few years the most important thing investors need to do is contribute more.

Investing appropriately is another obstacle. That's why Parks believes 2013 will bring "more sparring over the definition of fiduciary advisors and how fee disclosure ties into that." The industry will see price pressure and fees leveling out in 2013. Advisors are going to have to justify their existence in the equation when it comes to fees, especially if the Department of Labor moves forward with its fiduciary advisor definition.

If that changes, it will impact the way broker-dealers do their business. Already the industry has seen an uptick in the number of individuals offering 3(21) and 3(38) advisory services to broker-dealers and others who don't want to be fiduciaries. Parks believes the industry will see a lot more of this if the DOL releases its final rules on the subject.

"This shines a light on the whole issue that employees need advice and need it to be as non-conflicted as possible and at a reasonable fee," Parks said.

Accumulation and adjustment of retirement savings is another obstacle to saving more. Individuals need to adjust their savings as life changes. There has been discussion in the industry about requiring participant statements to show not only a person's retirement savings balance but an estimated monthly payment they could expect to receive after they retire based on what they have saved currently.

"The government is thinking about doing that," Parks said. Employees need to know that they can't just pick investments and leave their money untouched for the next 30 years. They need to revisit their goals every year and if they've changed or had something big happen in their life, like the birth of a child or a new job, they need to make adjustments based on those life-changing events.

Many people are concerned they will outlive their retirement savings. Industry and government entities have proposed including annuities within retirement savings plans. Parks said that his problem with annuities is that insurance companies take your money and invest it in the stock market to ensure they can pay annuity holder expenses in the future. If the stock market drops and that money disappears then it is on the taxpayers to pay it all again.

"We need to make sure policymakers know what they are asking for. Annuities are not solving all the problems. You are setting yourself up for more problems," he said.

The pension problem is another one that must be dealt with and soon, Parks said. "Some people think there is a mathematical fix [to keeping retirement's three-legged stool standing] but I think it is more complicated than that. We are kicking the can down the road," he said.