Ameriprise was rated tops in retirement income plan quality among full service financial advisors and broker-dealers. This is the opinion of affluent near-retirees in a survey released recently by retirement trend researcher Hearts & Wallets.

In a survey conducted last year by the firm, 84 percent of customers age 53 to 64 with investable assets of more than $100,000 praised their Ameriprise retirement plan for being solid, while 74 percent gave Edward Jones the same praise, followed by 73 percent advocating Wells Fargo Advisors, 70 percent Morgan Stanley and 66 percent Merrill Edge.

For self-directed brokerages and advisors, the satisfaction rankings from top to bottom were 89 percent for TD Ameritrade, 79 percent for Vanguard, 78 percent for Scottrade and 72 percent for E*Trade.

Outside the full-service model, T. Rowe Price and Charles Schwab were tied for No. 1 at 76 percent while Fidelity was given high marks by 71 percent of its customers.

About 200 customers at each firm were polled with the notable exceptions of 793 at Fidelity, 117 at Scottrade and 121 at T. Rowe Price.

In surveys, a higher number of respondents in a sample means more accurate results.

The poll also found the number of affluent near-retirement adults and retirees who had written financial plans dropped from 60 percent in 2008 to 55 percent last year.