With home equity tapped out amid the housing slowdown, cash-strapped Americans may turn next to their retirement plans. Mortgage-related calls for help and inquiries about tapping workplace savings have risen substantially over the past year, according to ComPsych Corp. in Chicago. The number of mortgage calls doubled in the first nine months of this year compared with the same period last year, said officials for ComPsych, which provides employee-assistance programs for about 10,000 employers.

Calls about 401(k) loans or withdrawals are up as much as 20 percent in the same period, said ComPsych financial specialist Bill Tettelbach. “It’s definitely bad out there,” Tettelbach said.