ING Site Allows Investors to "Keep up with the Joneses"

An ING news release said the site, www.INGCompareMe.com, allows users to compare their saving, investing and other financial habits with others by entering their data into the site and then seeing how their situation ranks based on survey data. Users create a profile by entering background information—along with optional details, such as their hobbies and interests—and then can answer a variety of straightforward questions in a number of personal finance categories to find out how they fare in the financial peer comparison.

According to the company, the ING site was initially populated with data from a survey conducted by the ING Institute for Retirement Research of more than 5,000 adults who participated in workplace retirement savings plans who were asked more than 150 questions on various financial matters.

For example, the survey found that those who spent more time thinking about and planning for their retirement—including spending time with an adviser—were also saving more in their workplace retirement plans. In fact, savers who spent a lot more time with an adviser accumulated 60% more than those who did not spend any time. Even savers that spent some time with a professional accumulated 40% more than those who did not spend any time.