At the moment, though, unfamiliarity with the Internet is commonly cited by employers and others as a reason people don't bother to go online for financial help. Other reasons include insufficient knowledge of investing and sheer lack of time.
Financial Engines and mPower say that it can take less than 10 minutes to get investment advice or a retirement forecast, although a more complete analysis requires more time. The advice includes suggestions on the percentage of salary to contribute to the 401(k) plan and asset-allocation and mutual fund recommendations.
Informed choices
People who use the services make better decisions, the online service providers say. Morning-star's participants have increased their contribution rates to 7.4 percent of their salary, on average, from 5.3 percent, making it more likely that they will save enough for retirement, said John Rekenthaler, the president of Morningstar Associates, the investment adviser subsidiary of Morningstar.
Allocations to company stock, which many experts consider too risky for retirement accounts, have declined 52 percent among those who have used Financial Engines, the company said.
For the most part, though, employees allocate assets when they sign up for a plan and never revisit their decisions, according to an analysis done two years ago by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
"I don't think many people get much use out of online advice," said Robyn Credico, a senior consultant in Washington for Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a benefits consultant. "These services are too complicated and too time-consuming."
Some employers say their workers are uncomfortable making investment decisions over the Internet.
fear of failure
"People still are concerned they'll push the wrong button and the screen will go blank," said David Ausbrooks, vice president for operations at the Williamson Medical Center in Franklin, Tennessee, south of Nashville. Ausbrooks says that it is helpful to have an expert on hand to guide people through the Financial Engines program. But so far, only a minority of employees have signed up for this service. "I'm confident we'll increase participation over time," he said.
Melanie Miller, an investment manager at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Missori, has conducted 15 seminars for Hallmark employees since Jan. 28 as part of a companywide investment education effort.
"Every time you tell someone about Financial Engines, they say it sounds great," she said. "But then they tell you, `I haven't had the time, I don't know about investing, and I won't know how to do it once I get there.'"
After a series of lunchtime demonstrations of the online service, she said, the percentage of participants online has increased to 25 percent from 20 percent the last 18 months. "It's not where we want it to be," said Miller, although it is in line with industry experience.
"About 80 percent of participants would rather not think about their 401(k)," she said.
All the online service providers acknowledge that online advice isn't enough for most people. Fidelity, for example, uses a 1,000-employee telephone center to supplement its service.
"The beauty of online advice is you can see instantaneously whether you're going to meet your goal or not; the negative is, it's you and a machine," said Peter Smail, the president of the Fidelity Employer Services Co. "We actively promote PortfolioPlanner, but not as an exclusive advice mechanism."
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