The Dow Jones industrial average in recent days has ended asurge that the markets hadn't seen in 17 years.

For some, it was one more sign that the nation's economy may becontinuing to move along the road to recovery. Industry watcherssaid the Dow's ascension, which started at close to 14,254 on March5 and peaked at 14,514 on March 15, was fueled by several factors,including a spike in gas prices.

Investors may have either been spooked by the record rise ormade some adjustments to their portfolio mix.

For credit union members, who tend to err on the side ofconservative, the Dow's increase might have aligned with theirsavings, which were up in January, according to CUNA Mutual Group'sMarch Credit Union Trends Report.

The timing of the Dow's record movement coincides with thelatest update from an initiative between CU Solutions Group and SaveUp. According to the Michigan Credit Union League &Affiliates, which owns CU Solutions Group, SaveUp is a free rewardsprogram that encourages consumers to make positive changes to theirfinancial behaviors.

More than 40 credit unions have signed on with SaveUp since thealliance launched six months ago.

Every time members contribute to their savings or retirement accounts, pay down their credit cards, mortgages orother loans or engage with SaveUp's financial education content,they earn credits they can use to win prizes from sponsors such asVirgin America, Banana Republic and GameStop, as well as a $2million jackpot, CUSG said.

For the $737 million NortheastCredit Union in Portsmouth, N.H., SaveUp has served severalroles particularly with certain member niches and their spendingand long-term planning goals, said Andrea Pruna, vice president ofmarketing at Northeast.

“SaveUp is a great innovative tool to engage with the Gen Ymarket, reward positive member behavior and help plan our marketingtactics using its incredibly useful data reports,” Pruna said.

Unlike their baby boomer counterparts, Gen X and Gen Y have a bit more time to plan for retirement. Totarget these younger members, SaveUp recently released its firstU.S. Consumer Savings and Debt Report with its major findingsfocused on the financial habits of Gen X and Gen Y.

With Gen X, average mortgage debt was $181,706, which was 21%above the U.S. average. Average student loan debt and credit carddebt were $44,270 and $8,801, respectively.

Gen Y had less debt averages, according to SaveUp. The averagemortgage debt was more than $161,000, which was 7.5% above the U.S.average. Average student loan debt and credit card debt were$40,273 and $4,113, respectively.

“Our recent data report shows that young people are bearing adisproportionate share of the country's non-asset debt, and ifcredit unions can engage younger Americans to offer them betterterms, and longer term financial services, there is a real benefitto all sides,” said Priya Haji, CEO and co-founder of SaveUp.

Meanwhile, despite the Dow's winning streak and more consumerspaying down debt, retiring comfortably remains elusive forsome.

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's Retirement ConfidenceSurvey, released on March 19, the percentage of workers confidentabout having enough money for a comfortable retirement isessentially unchanged from the record lows observed in 2011.

While more than half expressed some level of confidence, with13% being very confident and 38% somewhat confident of being ableto afford a comfortable retirement, 21% were not too confident, and28% were not at all confident. The latter figure is the highestlevel of those not at all confident recorded during the 23 years ofthe survey, EBRI said.

One reason that retirement confidence has remained low despite abrightening economic outlook is that some workers may be waking upto just how much they may need to save, according to EBRI.

Asked how much they believe they will need to save to achieve afinancially secure retirement, a striking number of workers citedlarge savings targets: 20% said they need to save between 20% to29% of their income and 23% indicated they need to save 30% ormore.

“Aggressive as those savings targets appear to be, they may notbe based on a careful analysis of their individual circumstances,”said Jack VanDerhei, EBRI research director and co-author of thereport. “Only 46% report they and/or their spouse have tried tocalculate how much money they will need to have saved by the timethey retire so that they can live comfortably in retirement.”