Few confident in value of future Medicare benefits, survey finds

Only six percent of U.S. workers are very confident that future Medicare benefits will be equal in value to what seniors receive today, according to a new survey.

The annual "Retirement Confidence Survey" from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) revealed growing anxiety among workers about their ability to retire in good financial stead.

The number of people who say they will work past 65 is up to 36 percent, more than tripling since the early 1990s, EBRI reported. 

Twenty-nine percent cited retirement medical expenses as a concern for them, while 39 percent said they were nervous about paying for long-term care. Both figures have risen over the last year.

Nearly seven in 10, meanwhile, expressed a lack of confidence that their future Medicare benefits would be equal in value to today's.

Researchers tied these responses to the recovering economy, a lack of retirement savings on the part of workers, and rising personal debt.

"Many [people] lack even a short-term cushion," said Matt Greenwald, who conducted and co-sponsored the report.

"Only about half of workers and a comparable number of retirees say they could definitely come up with $2,000 if an unexpected need arose within the next month."

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