Retiring earlier than expected may mean programs such as Social Security and Medicare become a bigger part of your income stream. Only 6 percent if the survey's respondents say they're very confident that the Social Security benefits they get will be at least equal to what retirees get today. Sixty-one percent said they weren't too confident of it, or not at all confident (41 and 20 percent). For Medicare, the percentage of workers in those categories combined was also 61 percent. Seventeen percent were not at all confident.
For the first time in the survey's history, EBRI used an an outside vendor's online panel instead of a random phone survey. People surveyed over the phone tend to choose "very confident" more often, the report noted, while online respondents lean toward "somewhat confident." Online, it said, people tend to "provide more honest, less flattering responses."
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.