What Makes a Good 401(k) Website and App (And Why It matters) 

Now that we turn to our phones for everything from learning a new language to ordering a last-minute pad thai, employers who put 401(k)s easily in their employees’ pockets are getting ahead. 

Workers who are the most satisfied with their retirement plans’ digital experience are likelier to have a more favorable view of their employer, according to a new study from JD Power. They’re also more likely to roll over savings from other retirement accounts and to keep their investments with their plan provider, even if they find a new job. 

So what makes a good digital experience? It starts with foundational elements, like ease of logging in and finding information, plus speedy loading, said Eric McCready, senior director of digital solutions at JD Power. But “in recent years we’ve seen a shift in retirement apps that began as a simple place to check your balance, to something that more closely resembles a brokerage app, with better visualization of performance over time and asset allocation.” 

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Friction points matter more than providers may realize, said Courtenay Shipley, chief planologist at consulting firm Retirement Planology. “Every extra click, every password reset, every ‘Where did they hide the beneficiary form?’ moment subtracts from engagement,” Shipley said. 

Nowadays, checking a balance is table stakes, and a good app should give participants a reason to stay curious past that number: 

• That could include a retirement income or gap projection for someone come age 65, or the ability to change a deferral rate or investment mix in one tap, Shipley said. It could entail beneficiary updates that don’t require a scavenger hunt in dropdown menus and connections to the wider financial picture, such as emergency savings, student loans or budgeting tools. 
• Participants are increasingly expecting their 401(k) website and app to work like the consumer financial apps they use elsewhere, and that’s just going to accelerate with Gen Z and millennial consumers, said Rebecca Hourihan, chief marketing officer at 401(k) Marketing. 

The Winners. JD Power found that Bank of America, including Merrill, ranked highest in both website and mobile satisfaction. Charles Schwab scored second place for both, tying with Fidelity Investments for mobile app satisfaction. Vanguard snagged third place for the web ranking. That may be pretty good news for those companies. Younger investors “won’t accept a bad interface,” Hourihan said. “They will simply leave and find a better client experience.”