Some Americans may be better prepared for retirement than they realize.

About 56% of baby boomers and Generation X (people now between about ages 38 and 65) are saving enough to cover their basic retirement costs, including uninsured medical expenses, according to a recent projection by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit think tank.

The bad news is that 44% aren't saving enough, and some of those people are on the lowest rungs of the income ladder, so they may have little opportunity to ramp up their savings as they age.

Still, while some people face a troubling retirement outlook, others in that 44% group can take steps to get their savings on track.

"Some Americans face a retirement crisis, but it isn't the majority," said Stephen Utkus, the director of Vanguard Group's Center for Retirement Research.

"For the longest time, studies have always pointed out that about 50% of Americans seem clearly ready for retirement," he says. But it's a mistake to assume the other half is in deep trouble.

Instead, Utkus says, people fall along a spectrum of retirement readiness, with 20% to 30% of Americans "partially ready" for retirement.

"A significant number of people can take some steps between now and retirement to move the dial and get to 'prepared,'" he says.

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