For decades, the traditional financial services industry failed to provide everyday Americans with access to retirement accounts and adequate financial advice. Some firms have made investing money overly complex, and others offer little transparency around fees and investment choices.

But now, the industry is evolving and technology is leading the new generation of financial services — one that caters to every working American, regardless of their income, net worth, investment experience or financial education.

Solving the accessibility problem
Affordability, convenience and availability are each key attributes that determine how accessible a service is, and accessibility is the one of the biggest barriers to retirement savings. After all, the option to invest for one’s future must be both realistic and attainable before they can even consider it.

More broadly, access to quality investment advice was costly and out of reach for many average Americans. It required high-minimum deposits and favored account holders with larger balances.

Most importantly, technology allows for higher operating efficiency so digital services are able to support and sustain the lower balance accounts that traditional firms have historically neglected.

Simplifying the process
Many first-time investors are overwhelmed by the idea of getting started with a retirement account. The process can be especially intimidating to those who lack financial education (the very people who need retirement advice the most), and it often keeps them from ever taking the first step.

Complexity has long been in the industry’s best interest because it was a way to bury the numerous conflicts of interest inherent to the sale of financial products so that consumers wouldn’t notice them. The process was anything but transparent.

Technology has simplified hassles like paperwork and complex fee structures. It has opened the door to viable financial products that are actually consumer-friendly and affordable, so their terms and policies don’t need to be hidden.

Instilling smart habits
Financial wellbeing begins with smart financial habits, namely investing and saving for retirement, and new technologies are making both easier by automating actions that help people stay on track.

One thing, for example, that tech has simplified is the process of automating savings with recurring auto-deposits. Over time, this helps create a whole new mindset in which saving isn’t just something that happens when there’s money left over at the end of the month — it’s an “expense” that gets paid before anything else. The idea is to become acclimated to living on less in the present in order to have more in the future.

Digital investment services are easily customizable, and they can track how much needs to be saved each week or month in order to stay on track toward goals.

New financial services firms are using technology to offer accessible and simple investing and retirement savings options for everyday Americans. It's regrettable that incumbent players have just started to notice. If we had been proactive in making quality financial services available to all Americans, we could've avoided the retirement crisis that we and our children now face.

Our children’s future depends on our success in this effort. The good news is that it’s within our generation’s power to catalyze change, rewrite the rules, and leverage technology to make quality retirement services accessible to everyone. In so doing, we’ll write ourselves into history as the generation that gets our country back on track toward dignified retirements and a prosperous future.

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