Americans’ Spending Unlikely to Rebound Anytime Soon, Survey Finds

Economists and politicians are pointing to signs of recovery in the stock market and other economic arenas. But a new survey suggests that Americans’ discretionary income and purchases—as well as their charitable giving—are unlikely to return to pre-recession levels anytime soon.

The survey, conducted quarterly by Finance Finesse, a Manhattan Beach, Calif., company that provides financial education and advice for half a million employees in more than 400 companies nationwide, analyzed employees’ economic interests and concerns through their use of the company’s financial education services.

From April to June of this year, 82 percent of the calls made to the company’s help line were about short-term financial issues such as pressing debt and money-management problems, and 18 percent were about longer-term financial planning. Normally, a Finance Finesse official said, the calls are equally divided among short-term and long-term issues.

Calls from employees who said they are having trouble making ends meet more than tripled, from 3 percent in the first quarter of this year to 11 percent in the second quarter.

Also troubling, the official said, is the rise in calls about taking retirement-plan loans and hardship withdrawals: Such calls have nearly doubled, from 9 to 16 percent since the beginning of this year, an “alarming” signal that increasing numbers of Americans are putting themselves at risk of spending too much of the money they will need in retirement.