Survey: Nearly a third of American workers postponing retirement

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The economic downturn is hitting middle-aged and older American workers hard, forcing nearly one in three to postpone retirement, according to a survey released Tuesday by the AARP.

Twenty-seven percent of workers over the age of 45 said they had put their retirement plans on hold because of the slowing economy, the American Association of Retired Persons, or AARP, reported.

Baby boomers and retirees agree that the economy is in bad or fairly bad condition and that the government should be doing more to help, the survey said.

–By CNNMoney.com's Catherine Clifford