Other news wasn't so good. Not surprisingly, men 55 or older and making $100,000 a year or more were more than four times likely, at 40 percent, to say they were on track than women under 45 earning less than $60,000, at only 9 percent.

And those women were also less likely to say that they had a handle on cash flow, had an emergency fund, paid bills on time and paid off credit cards in full each month, or, for that matter, contributed at all to a retirement plan at work. 

Along those lines, while there was a decrease in the percentage of lower-income employees who reported having ever taken a retirement plan loan or hardship withdrawal – from 42 percent in 2012 to 35 percent in 2013 – that 35 percent, the study said, is still higher than the average at around 30 percent. 

Also, "(w)hile we would like to think that the decrease in leakage (money leaving retirement plans before retirement, through loans or hardship withdrawals) is due to a greater awareness of the impact it has on retirement, it more likely is the result of employees opting out of their retirement plan rather than withdrawing money from it," the report authors wrote. 

This year, uncertainty and skepticism about the market and its ability to sustain growth, coupled with little or no real wage growth in the first half, has meant that both retirement and investor confidence has fallen during the first three quarters, the report said. 

Unless there's a substantial change for the better in the fourth quarter, an overall drop for the year in investor confidence and the number of employees who feel they are on track for retirement is likely, Financial Finesse said.

"We have yet to determine if this is a sign of regression, or just a bump in the road," the authors of the report said.