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A case of the stock market willies may be especially harmful to novice investors. After all, the classic thinking is that younger people should have riskier portfolios stuffed with stocks because they have so many years to ride out the ups and downs of market cycles. Across the pond, the Brits have come up with an interesting solution to this problem through a major overhaul of the retirement savings system, the National Employment Savings Trust.

Mark Fawcett, NEST's chief investment officer, explains that during the credit crisis of 2008, many young retirement savers stopped making contributions or moved their nest eggs to cash. That meant they locked in their losses and missed the stock market rebound that has taken place in the U.K., just as it has in the U.S.

So, Fawcett says, NEST has re-engineered some investments, keeping in mind the fearfulness of young investors. Instead of offering target-date funds that start out heavy on stocks and gradually grow more conservative as the years pass, the plan puts newbie investors into conservative funds that become aggressive as investors mature.

Here's how it works. A 22-year-old retirement saver may start with contributions to a target-date-type fund with a small percentage of stocks and, therefore, low risk. By the time the saver turns 27, the portfolio has a moderate allocation to stocks and increased but moderate risk. And by age 30, the saver is invested almost entirely in stocks.

But wait. Aren't investors missing out on big returns when they're young? "Maybe," says Fawcett, "but there's virtually no impact on the size of the final pot." That's because retirement savings balances are relatively small when investors are starting out.

John Ameriks, head of the investment counseling and research group at mutual fund giant Vanguard, says: "If you don't feel comfortable putting 90 percent in the market when you're young, put in 45 percent, (and) never let the risk involved in the stock market stop you from starting a savings program." Original Print Headline: Savings tips help scared investors

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Money Power: Savings ideas for scared, young investors