Smartphone usage has — barely — surpassed that of the PC/Macs among defined contribution plan participants, according to a new study Spectrem’s Millionaire Corner conducted.
Eight-in-ten DC plan participants report using a smartphone with Internet access and apps, which is slightly higher than the percentage of PC/Mac users (78%) who do so. Just over six-in-ten (62%) said they use a tablet or e-reader.Smartphone usage among DC plan participants is up from last year (71%), while PC/Mac usage has remained basically unchanged (79%). Tablet or e-reader usage is trending upward from 57% in 2013, according to the report.
Not surprisingly, smartphone usage is highest among the youngest respondents to the Millionaire Corner study — but the gap is not as large as one might expect. While 91% of those under age 35 said they use a smartphone, compared with 82% of those between the ages of 35-49 and nearly three-quarters (74%) of those over the age of 50.
At least two-thirds of DC plan participants said they use tablets or e-readers, as opposed to just over half (53%) of those 50 and over.
Age is not a significant factor in PC/Mac usage (80% of those under age 35 vs. 78% of their older counterparts), though there does seem to be a slight gender gap; 85% of males use a PC or Mac (vs. 71% of women); 63% of women use a tablet or e-reader, as opposed to 61% of men.
The 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that more than half of workers (53%), but just one-quarter of retirees (26%), report they use a desktop or laptop computer with a direct Internet connection to help manage their finances. However, at that time much smaller percentages managed their finances using mobile devices such as smart phones, smart phone apps or tablet computers.
