American women want Congress to act now to stave off an impending retirement crisis by fixing Social Security before it runs short on funding in the next decade.

"If policymakers are serious about improving the financial resilience of women, they'll need to implement pragmatic retirement solutions that will help women shore up their retirement position," said Dan Doonan, executive director of the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS). "Women clearly see increasing pension coverage as part of the retirement equation, and they want to see action now on Social Security."

Eighty percent of women think the nation is headed toward a retirement crisis, according to a new report published by NIRS based on a survey conducted by Greenwald Research. More than three-quarters of women surveyed said they believe the typical American worker doesn't earn enough to independently save for a secure retirement. Women surveyed largely equate having a pension with retirement security, and 82% said all workers should have one so they can be self-reliant during retirement.