vWise's Retirement Plan Engagement Software Receives Superior Uptake and Usability Ratings in Independent Testing

9 out of 10 study participants reported that SmartPlan helped them to become more "retirement ready."

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Mar 23, 2015, 09:22 ET

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., March 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- vWise Inc. today released highlights from its continuing research study of the effects of behavioral finance and its SmartPlan^SM employee engagement solution that revealed significant improvement in the confidence that employees feel about their ability to achieve a successful retirement after using vWise's innovative solution.

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Improving Plan Participation
The study probed a range of frustrations felt by 256 plan participants regarding how they engage with their employer-sponsored retirement plan. Respondents were asked a series of questions that assessed their level of Retirement Readiness and the usability of the SmartPlan software. Usability scores are based on a System Usability Scale (SUS) (Brooke, 1996)ⁱ widely used since 1982 to rank professionally designed user interfaces.

Usability Study Results
The SUS is an easy-to-understand score between 0 (negative) and 100 (positive). SmartPlan scored an 83.5 among all users and 92.7 among users with access to a retirement plan — significantly higher than the 68.2% average score recorded for users engaging with all web applications. Other highlights of the usability study for SmartPlan included the following:

9 out of 10 respondents reported that SmartPlan "helps me to be more retirement ready."
9 out of 10 users agree that SmartPlan "meets their retirement readiness needs."
100% of respondents agreed that SmartPlan was "simple to use."
8 out of 10 people said that they would recommend SmartPlan to a friend.

"For 40 years, plan providers, employers and plan sponsors have invested millions upon millions of dollars in retirement plan education and enrollment meetings," said Tony Mingo, President & CEO of vWise. "SmartPlan complements these efforts allowing them to service more plans and more participants anytime, anywhere."

How SmartPlan works is rooted in behavioral science. Getting people to take action toward pursuing their retirement goals is all about instilling in them the confidence they need to overcome fear and inertia.

vWise scientifically designed a comprehensive employee engagement solution that works seamlessly with a 401k plan provider's existing online presence, print, technology, tools and human resources staff. It delivers information in digestible, familiar formats for participants at all levels of reading comprehension and investment sophistication, thereby taking the guesswork and fear out of the education, enrollment and decision-making processes. With interactive SmartPlan, the workplace retirement plan is now easier to understand, more engaging and more accessible to employees. The result is action.

About vWise
vWise Inc. is a creator of software and solutions for the employee benefits industry. vWise's award-winning VMAX Solutions are an integrated suite of business solutions for the Defined Contribution market that maximize operational efficiency and increase effectiveness and profitability. VMAX Solutions include SmartPlan – the industry's most advanced platform for participant education, enrollment and analytics. www.vwise.com.

For more information, contact:

David Ferrigno
Chief Financial Officer
(949) 716-1274
Email

ⁱ Brooke, J. (1996). SUS: a 'quick and dirty' usability scale. In P.W. Jordon, B. Thomas, B.A. Weerdmeester, and I.L. McClelland (Eds.) Usability in Industry (189-194). London: Taylor and Francis.

SOURCE vWise Inc.