The majority of people who have consulted a financial service professional for advice in the last two years have found it to be independent and objective, and more than half have implemented the advisor’s recommendations, a new survey finds.

The poll of 1,002 people who work in higher education, conducted for TIAA-CREF, found that within the last two years, 60% of respondents have sought objective retirement planning advice.

Most (85%) of those who have consulted with a financial advisor within the past two years feel that the advice was independent and objective and 69% typically implement the recommendations received, the survey found.

An important concern to 87% of respondents was obtaining advice on how to draw income to live on through their retirement, while just one percent fewer (86%) of survey participants said advice regarding paying for healthcare in retirement is important to them.

Other key concerns for consulting an advisor: how to invest savings (89%), how much should be saved (60%) and once retired, how to draw income to live on from savings (50%), according to the TIAA-CREF survey.

“Economic forces and recent extreme market volatility make it more important than ever for individuals to take responsibility for their retirement security,” said Maliz Beams, TIAA-CREF’s head of client services, in a statement.

The survey also found that of the 24% who changed the amount they are saving for retirement due to developments in the financial markets, 61% put more money into their savings.

Just 41% of near-retirees had changed their asset allocations in the last year, despite the recession, the survey found. Of those who did make changes, 83% decreased their equity exposure.

Two-thirds of those surveyed expressed concern about outliving their savings and about choosing the best way to draw income to live on from their savings.