WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney said on Thursday that Americans should start saving "on the very first day of work."

Cheney told a conference in Washington that Americans need to do a better job saving for their future.

He said too many workers aren't saving enough.

"The American Dream begins with saving money, and that should begin on the very first day of work. The power of compound interest is even greater when people start saving early. Yet a lot of American families live paycheck-to-paycheck -- often finding, as the saying goes, 'too much month at the end of the money,'" Cheney said.

Last year, Americans' personal savings rate hit its lowest point since the Great Depression.

The dismal state of savings comes as a big wave of baby boomers will soon start retiring.

Cheney reiterated President George W. Bush's State of the Union call for creation of a commission to study the impact of retiring baby boomers on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

"There will always be a wagonload of excuses for ignoring the problem of entitlements," said Cheney. "But Americans have a right to expect more out of the nation's leaders, especially when it comes to Social Security and other defining national promises. The longer we wait to address the coming crisis, the more excuses that are made for inaction, the more difficult and expensive the job will eventually be."

Cheney also urged Congress to finish legislation to bolster the shaky pension system.

Pension plans that pay out set amounts to retirees are estimated to be $450 billion short.

To fix this, legislation would tighten pension-funding rules for companies.