But then reality sets in. Will anyone save it? Nah. They can't afford to. Edward Jones found the majority of those they talked to, 52 percent, said if they got a refund, they'd spend it on necessary items, including household expenses or credit card debt.  

A lot less – 30 percent – said that they'd save it and 8 percent said they'd invest it. But even that's not really accurate either, because some MIT prof people say they're going to save and then don't.

I mean, the smartest men and women in the world are on this problem – the retirement crisis – and really, they haven't come up with an answer, short of socialism. And we all know how well that worked out.

I'm on this beat for about four months now and, like most other things, the more you learn, the less you realize you know. I've, by this point, read, edited and wrote, hundreds of stories about ways to save, who saves and why others can't, and what academics and think tanks learn about retirement habits. But the needle really hasn't moved. And from where I sit, I just see things getting worse.

So, maybe, I should just tell jokes in this column. Two cannibals are eating a clown and one says to the other: "Does this taste funny?"

Did you laugh or groan? Either way, better save some moolah and get your clients to follow suit. Because I'm not finding the words that can make either of us smile.