More than half of all Americans are concerned that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their ability to achieve a secure retirement, according to a new poll taken by the National Institute on Retirement Security.

This should come as no surprise. We all know that this pandemic has exposed the economic disparity between the rich and the poor. Statistics concerning retirement savings are another reflection of this.

The median retirement savings for the bottom 50% of workers in the Unites States today is zero, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In 2016, only 41% of Black families and 35% of Hispanic families had any retirement savings at all.

When you look at the median household retirement savings for all ages, it is $57,000 for full-time workers and only $23,000 for part-time workers. Compare this to what financial pundits preach today: The average couple will need between $1 million to $1.5 million to retire comfortably! The disconnect and disparity is obvious.

The financial impact of COVID has forced many families to spend any savings they had, including taking money out of 401(k)s. “Let’s see, do I pay my mortgage, put food on the table, take my child to the doctor or save for retirement.” What would you do?

Consequently, we face a serious crisis for the next two generations of retirees. Both Millennials and GenXers have grown up and become adults in a time of great crisis, complete with real estate busts, fewer jobs, financial implosion and now the pandemic.

Six out of ten Millennials have no savings whatsoever, and a whopping 70% of millennials are “stressed and anxious about saving for retirement.” Experts add that over a third of baby boomers have between “zero and $25,000 set aside for retirement.” Many of them can’t even qualify for a reverse mortgage because their debt load is too high.

This does not bode well for the future. The burden of preparing for retirement is increasing as people have to deal with the rising costs of housing, health care and long-term care costs.

All of these are escalating at a much faster rate than either salaries, hourly wages or the ability to save. For millions of Americans, surviving on Social Security alone will simply not be enough.

What happened? About 20 years ago the popular theory was to stop paying into pension funds and let workers be the masters of their own retirement destiny. Most private sector companies started phasing out pensions in favor of voluntary contributions programs like 401(k)s. Many economists feel this was a massive experiment that failed.

It is generally understood that current retirement savings policies result in even more inequalities. Workers can shelter income if they save it for retirement in an IRA or 401(k) account — which is a great if you are comfortable financially and have a high marginal tax rate, but of almost no value if you are a low earner with a low tax rate.

The good news is two well-known economists from both sides of the political aisle have offered a “transformative proposal to build wealth for low- and moderate-income workers throughout the country,” according to the Economic Innovation Group. Co-authors Teresa Ghilarducci, a labor economist at The New School, and Kevin Hassett, of The Lindsey Group, a conservative think tank, are suggesting that all workers be given access to a program modeled after the highly successful federal Thrift Savings Plan, known as the TSP.

Currently, this program is only available to federal employees and members of the military. Workers are automatically enrolled, and these contributions are invested in low expense mutual funds that will build wealth over time.

As Kevin Hassett was quoted as saying, “Imagine how healthy and secure our collective future might look if we could diminish wealth disparities … The persistent lack of wealth at the bottom undermines faith in the basic fairness of our economic system and prevents millions of Americans from enjoying a direct stake in national growth and prosperity.”

I could not have said it better. Their ideas are gaining traction as part of the effort to rebuild the economy in the wake of the pandemic and economic crisis.

May is traditionally Older Americans Month. This seems like the perfect time to recognize the truth of Hassett’s statements — and voice your support for a program of this kind. A secure retirement for millions of seniors will strengthen our country, not diminish it.