A survey by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) found that 40 percent of working adults had their employer-sponsored benefits reduced or eliminated over the last five years, CNNMoney reported.

Health insurance was a top benefit to be squeezed. Most workers seeing benefits reduced, or 72 percent, said their health insurance benefits were reduced. They had to pay higher deductibles, co-pays, and premiums.

Employees' out-of-pocket expenses increased 5.8 percent to an average of $3,470 for a family of four, CNNMoney reported, citing data from Milliman Inc., a health care consultant.

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More that half of Fortune 1000 companies will completely drop health care coverage by 2017, predicts the researcher firm, Corporate Executive Board, according to CNNMoney.

A quarter of the people surveyed said their employers had also reduced 401(k) matching contributions, and 13 percent said their employers had completely dropped the contributions, the NEFE survey reported.

Three-fourths of employers that stopped matching 401(k) contributions during the downturn have reinstated them, Towers Watson, a benefits consultant, told CNNMoney.

A new tax credit, part of the affordable health care law signed by President Barack Obama, was seen as a way to help small businesses provide health care for their employees. Although the credit is a popular idea, most businesses did not claim it in 2010 because it was not financially attractive enough and the application was too time-consuming, according to the AP.

John Arensmeyer of Small Business Majority, which supports the health insurance law, told the AP that negative publicity has discouraged small businesses from using the credit and that participation will increase over time,.

Only about 30 percent of businesses with fewer than 10 workers offer health insurance, and they typically pay more than larger businesses, according to the AP.

Editor's Note: Obama Donor Banned This Video But You Can Watch it Here