More than 28 percent of retirees surveyed in Wachovia's fourth annual Retirement Survey report withdrawing 10 percent or more of their retirement savings annually to pay for expenses.

People who report withdrawing savings take out an average of $375,000 in savings, while 38 percent say they withdraw 5 percent or less of their savings.

The study found that the majority of respondents report taking Social Security at age 62, 17 percent take benefits at age 65 and 9 percent report delaying Social Security benefits past age 65.

Richard Day Research of Evanston, Ill., conducted 2,100 online interviews for Wachovia with respondents between ages 55 and 70 and with household assets of $75,000 or more, excluding real estate holdings.