More than half of Americans, 52%, have cut back on daily expenses and 44% are delaying large purchases because of inflation, according to a survey released by Greenwood Village-based Empower, formerly Empower Retirement.

With inflation hitting a new high Wednesday, 9.1%, the July Empower survey shows how spending and savings habits have changed — sometimes markedly — in 2022.

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of survey respondents, 85%, reported being concerned about inflation and 86% have taken “at least one action due to inflation.”

“For more than a decade, American investment portfolios and retirement accounts have benefited from accommodative monetary policies and a powerful economy,” according to the survey. “But this longest bull market in history came to an abrupt halt with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

“Now, in the wake of skyrocketing inflation and prolonged stock market volatility, Americans are watching their investment account balances shrink while also facing rapid increases in their cost of living.”

The average nest egg that survey participants needed to feel secure grew 20% over the past six months, from $441,178 to $529,993.

According to the study, 21% of working Americans felt financially unhealthy in the second quarter of 2022; 9% felt financially unhealthy in the first quarter of 2021.

“While inflation is prompting Americans to take a hard look at their investment strategy, most are not yet willing to take drastic steps,” according to the survey. “Overall, six in 10 (61%) Americans have not sold their assets or investments and are not planning to do so.”

Here are other ways Americans are dealing with inflation: Creating a budget, 50%; cutting back on driving, 45%; switching to cheaper brands, 45%; seeking alternate income streams, 32%; talking with a financial professional, 29%; using some “emergency savings” to pay for expenses, 28%; asking for a raise at work, 20%; or relocating to another city/state/country, 12%.

The survey drilled down into subsets of age, ethnicity and sex.

“While inflation prompts younger people to change investment course, baby boomers hold steady,” according to the survey. “Confronted with rising inflation, almost half of Americans (49%) plan to make or have already made changes to their investment approach. … Only a third of baby boomer respondents, 33%, are planning to make or have made such changes in response to inflation. This contrasts with the approach favored by younger Americans: More than half of Gen Xers, 55%, and almost two-thirds of Gen Zers, 62%, and millennials plan to change their investment approach in response to inflation or have already done so.”

Empower and Personal Capital, a digital-based finance company that’s an Empower subsidiary, hired the Harris Poll to conduct the survey of 2,000 U.S. citizens over the age of 18. Harris conducted the survey from April 19 to April 23.

Empower administers about $1.4 trillion in assets for more than 17 million retirement plan participants and is the nation’s second-largest retirement plan recordkeeper by total participants, according to its website.

Editor’s note: Empower handles the employee retirement plans for Clarity Media, which owns The Denver Gazette.