Nearly three-quarters of Americans get stressed out or anxiouswhen they think about retirement saving and investing.

According to the 2013 Franklin Templeton Retirement IncomeStrategies and Expectations survey, stress is on the rise, with 37%of respondents saying they were more concerned they would outlivetheir assets or have to make major sacrifices in their retirementplans than they were a year ago.

In response to the stress, 67% of pre-retirees indicated theywould be willing to make financial sacrifices now to live better inretirement.

The survey found that that three in 10 American adults haven'teven started saving for retirement, and those numbers don't justinclude younger workers. Sixty-eight percent of those ages 45 to 54and half of those ages 55 to 64 have $100,000 or less in retirementsavings.

Forty-eight percent of survey respondents said they wereconcerned about how they would pay for health care in retirement;24% were worried about living expenses and 12% were worried aboutkeeping up their current lifestyle.

A full 93% of pre-retirees expect their retirement expenses tobe similar or less than pre-retirement spending, and only 15% ofthose retired indicated that their actual retirement spending wasmore than expected.

An examination of retirement income sources revealed that nearlyhalf (47%) of respondents do not know with a high degree ofconfidence how much of their current income will be replaced bySocial Security and a comparable number (44%) are similarly unsureconcerning their employer-sponsored (defined contribution)retirement plan (i.e., 401(k), 403(b)).

More than three in five pre-retirees (62%) do not know how muchthey can expect to withdraw from their savings annually duringretirement.

Working with an adviser appears to help; 58% of those who haveworked with an adviser to develop a written retirement incomestrategy are confident about how much of their income will bereplaced by Social Security, and 55% are confident about how muchof their income will be replaced by their employer-sponsoredretirement plan.

The survey revealed two retirement misconceptions that mighthave serious implications on retirees' retirement income.

When asked what adjustment they would make if they were unableto retire as planned due to insufficient income, the top tworesponses were to delay retirement (62%) and to increase sources ofincome (i.e. work part-time) (45%). However, one-third oftoday's retirees surveyed were forced into retirement due tocircumstances beyond their control, such as health issues andcompany downsizing, indicating that working longer may not be arealistic option for many people.

Secondly, the majority (74%) of pre-retirees anticipates takingSocial Security benefits at their “full” retirement age (betweenages 66 to 67) or later. However, the majority (63%) oftoday's retirees were forced to tap Social Security benefits early,sacrificing their benefit amount by as much as 25%.

“Assuming you can just stay on the job longer could cost you,”said Michael Doshier, vice president of Retirement Marketing forFranklin Templeton Investments. “But taking just a littletime to write down a plan, with an adviser, can not only help youunderstand your true options better, it might also reduce yourfeelings of stress.”

The 2013 Franklin Templeton Retirement Income Strategies andExpectations survey was conducted online among a sample of 2,002adults comprising 1,001 men and 1,001 women 18 years of age orolder. The survey was administered from January 10 to 22,2013 by ORC International's Online CARAVAN.

This article was originally posted at BenefitsPro.com, a sister site of CreditUnion Times.