We know that millennials are not saving for retirement but it’s time to admit that theproblem has become so acute that employers should consider taking action to helpfix it.

Retirement savings is an important issue for all of us, butespecially so for anyone who has not squirrelled any money away forold age—a serious problem for millennials.

Some 70 percent of millennials say they experience stress andanxiety about retirement savings and investments, not least because40 percent of them have no retirement savings at all, according toa report by Franklin Templeton Investments.

There are good reasons millennials aren’t saving enough. Forstarters, they earn less than previous generations. An analysis, bythe advocacy group Young Invincibles, of Federal Reserve data reveals average householdincome of $40,581; Millennials now earn 20 percent less thanboomers did. Workers in their 20s earn so little these days thatnearly 40 percent of young Americans live with relatives, thelargest percentage since 1940, according to Trulia.

When you consider that student debt has also soared—a 2016graduate has an average of $37,172 in student loans compared tograduates from 2003 who had an average of $18,271, according to The College Investor—it’s easy tosee why very little is being saved.

The average person needs to save about 20 times their annualliving expenses to be comfortable in retirement. For example,someone comfortable living on $50,000 annually in retirement,should save $1 million. Someone spending $100,000 annually inretirement, should plan to save $2 million.

Millennials are falling so far short of that target that 25 or30 years from now it will be a national crisis unless millennialsand their employers take action soon.

Why does it matter to employers that their employees save nowrather than later?

Millennials who discover 10 years into their career that theyhave not saved enough may move to a company that offers betterretirement planning and saving benefits.

So, smart employers should act now to keep their employees forthe long run. Companies that fail to act may lose those employeesjust at the time when they become the most valuable.

Because of the mathematics of compound interest, the savingsmade in the first 10 years of your career can yield more retirementmoney than whatever is put aside in the subsequent 25 years.Contributing early with a little is better than contributing laterwith more.

For example, if an employee puts aside $5,000 per year in a401(k) starting at 25 and generates a 6 percent return annually, by65 that employee would have saved almost $800,000. By comparison,saving twice that amount ($10,000) annually starting at 40 wouldleave the employee with less than $570,000.

Many employers tell me that based on what they see manymillennials saving, they really should be doubling what they’resaving today.

So, what can employers do to help now?

The most important thing is to press millennials to save more,earlier in their career.

Employers can start by amending their retirement plans toautomatically increase participant contributions by 1 percentannually, pushing employees to put aside more than they mightotherwise. Such programs are effective and still give employees thechoice of opting out.

Getting employees saving young and escalating such amounts is soimportant because many simply set their savings level once and thenkeep it for life. If they set it right initially they will be finein retirement; set it too low and they may face hardship in theirsenior years.

It’s also high time that employers admit that holding town hallstyle meetings to discuss savings don’t work. Millennials won’tshow up anymore for your meeting for a slice of pizza or donuts andcoffee.

However, if employers engage with staff using modern means—anoffer sent over a retirement savings app or simply by textingemployees—they can garner much higher levels of engagement. Sendinga targeted text message to lower contributing staff over theirsmart phones asking them if they would like to increase theirretirement savings rate can be remarkably effective.

Employers that really want to help should also consider changingtheir compensation structures. For example, instead of paying ayoung worker $75,000 with a 3 percent 401(k) contribution (fortotal comp of $77,250), they could pay that same person $68,400with a 13 percent guaranteed employer contribution (for total compof $77,292.)

With Social Security potentially not providing enough money forAmericans to live on in their senior years, it’s essential thatemployers work with millennials today to ensure they’re savingenough for their retirement.

The alternative may be sharply higher income taxes 25 years fromnow and millions of Americans without the retirement savingsnecessary for basics such as heat, food, healthcare andshelter.