Individuals are over 60 percent more likely to implement a financial change when there is an explicit investment recommendation, rather than general guidance, according to a study released by financial services provider TIAA-CREF.

TIAA-CREF also noted that only one third of Americans consistently take action after receiving financial advice, according to a study released by financial services provider TIAA-CREF.

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James Nichols, senior managing director for advice and planning services at TIAA-CREF, said: "The fact that people are not consistently acting on the advice they receive comes as no great surprise. People are all too often inundated with the information telling them to save more, cut costs and plan for retirement, but how you go about that differs for every person."

Overall, TIAA-CREF said the survey findings further support the need for individualized advice, with one in five Americans saying finding relevant financial advice is difficult. Of those, 51 percent said they don’t know where to start looking, and 74 percent said they don’t know which sources they can trust for financial advice.

The survey also found the need to receive advice differed with age, gender and other individualized factors of the respondents.

Respondents who showed more interest in receiving financial advice were those aged between 18 and 34, known as generation Y, with one in four saying they frequently look for financial advice.

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The survey data released by TIAA-CREF included a national random sample of 1,006 adults age 18 years and older nationwide between July 11, 2012 and July 17, 2012.