One account may make all the difference in Americans’ retirement confidence, according to a new study.

Investors who own IRAs are significantly more comfortable with their retirement preparations than those who aren’t, according to an annual study from TIAA. Almost all IRA contributors, 91 percent, report that they are confident about their retirement savings, compared to 64 percent of respondents who were not contributing to an IRA.

While most Americans can access an IRA, survey respondents who said they weren’t saving in one said they deferred because the accounts are too complicated and hard to understand or because they did not have sufficient funds to invest in one, according to TIAA.

TIAA reports that in reality, while most IRA owners contribute more than $1,000 a year, 20 percent of respondents with an IRA contribute $250 or less each year. Younger generations appeared to be less likely to save in IRAs, according to TIAA’s research, and more likely to leave old 401(k) and 403(b) accounts behind at old jobs than retirees or near retirees.

While 30 percent of the respondents said that they did not roll over old defined contribution plan accounts because they were satisfied with their plans, inertia appeared to be the largest culprit when it came to old, forgotten workplace retirement accounts: 17 percent of respondents said they didn’t know what to do with their accounts, 17 percent were unaware of their rollover options, 13 percent reported not having enough time to handle a rollover and 9 percent complained that rolling over accounts is too complicated.

TIAA believes that more Americans would invest in IRAs if they understood the tax benefits of the accounts – 44 percent of the respondents said that they didn’t know about or understand the benefits conferred by traditional and Roth IRAs.

The onus is on advisors to provide this education, argues TIAA. Among respondents already saving in an IRA, personal support from a financial advisor was cited as the No. 1 reason for opening and contributing to the account.

TIAA’s annual IRA Survey was conducted via telephone interviews of 1,007 U.S.  adults in January.