The Federal Reserve is trying to help Americans by stimulating the economy with low interest rates. It may actually push some of them toward riskier investments for yield.

The Federal Open Market Committee said last week that economic conditions are likely to warrant "exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014."

The benchmark interest rate has remained near zero since December 2008 as the economy and housing market have struggled to recover.

That means U.S. investors starved for yield will have to continue their search for income by extending maturities or durations of their fixed-income holdings, or putting money in riskier, higher-yielding securities, said Dean Junkans, chief investment officer of Wells Fargo Advisors and Wells Fargo Private Bank, which are units of Wells Fargo & Co.

"There's not an easy answer for retirees," Junkans said. "Don't be lulled into the belief that buying intermediate Treasury-type products or strategies at these low, low interest levels (is) risk free."

"I wouldn't get too cute, too tricky in this," said Rex Macey, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust, of taking on a lot of duration or maturity risk.

The risk of holding longer-term bonds is that interest rates may rise, even before 2014, and if that happens, investors may see the price of their bonds drop, said Richard Saperstein, managing director at HighTower Advisors' Treasury Partners in New York.

There's a possible "Cinderella scenario," in which the U.S. economy may strengthen and fears of euro contagion diminish, causing a shift to equities from bonds and an increase in rates, he said.

Investors should consider trimming bonds in their portfolios that have maturities of 10 years to 30 years and remember that the Fed's policy will continue to keep short-term rates anchored close to zero, he said.

Investments that offer higher yields than Treasuries such as high-yield debt, emerging-market debt or floating-rate notes will also appeal to investors as they expect rates to remain low for the next two years, said Macey of Wilmington Trust, a unit of M&T Bank Corp., which oversees about $60 billion in assets.

Sales of new junk bonds are accelerating at the fastest pace since September, and exchange-traded funds focused on the debt are growing at the fastest two-month pace since 2009.

Junkans of Wells Fargo said he's advised clients to seek income in multiple assets, such as dividend-paying stocks, real estate investment trusts and master limited partnerships, rather than extending maturities.

"Retirees are tired of no return on their investments and that leads to problems because the con artists know that," said Jack Herstein, assistant director of the Nebraska department of banking and finance and president of the North American Securities Administrators Association. "They know the elderly have most of the income and will make promises of high-yield investments that can't miss."

Senior investors may turn to structured products and loosely regulated private placements without understanding the terms and risks of the investments, Herstein said.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank's policy to help boost the economy can best help American savers.

"The savers in our economy are dependent on a healthy economy in order to get adequate returns," Bernanke said at a news conference in Washington after a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee last week.

"If our economy is in really bad shape, then they're not going to get" good returns on their investments, he said.