Data & Research March 13, 2012

Workers Skittish about Use of Technology for Finances

Workers are slow to embrace new technologies to help them manage their finances.
Reported by

According to the 22nd annual Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), approximately half of workers report using a desktop or laptop with a direct Internet connection (53%) or with a wireless connection (46%) to help manage their finances. Much smaller percentages say they use smartphones (20%), a smartphone app (12%) or a tablet computer (11%) for this task. 

Even among those who use these technologies, only a minority feel very comfortable performing various tasks related to financial management online. Roughly four in 10 report feeling very comfortable shifting money from one account or investment to another online (41%) and using calculators online to assist with financial decisions (37%), but only 19% are very comfortable purchasing financial products online and just 10% say they are very comfortable obtaining advice from financial professionals online. 

The survey was conducted in January 2012 through 20-minute telephone interviews with 1,262 individuals (1,003 workers and 259 retirees) age 25 and older in the U.S.

More information is available at http://www.ebri.org.

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