"There are national statistics that show that certainly the majority of American workers are not prepared for retirement, but only 50 percent have ever done a retirement needs calculation, and only less than 80 percent state that they have limited knowledge about financial planning issues," he said. "So what you have is people who have limited knowledge of what they need and no idea of how to go about planning it."

Catherine Collinson, president of Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, agreed that more education is needed. But for Collinson, it's not a lack of education that's the issue; it's a lack of utilization. With so many retirement plan providers, there are a wealth of retirement education materials available, she said. 

"The issue isn't so much about educating employees," she said, "it's nudging employees to educate themselves, to take advantage of all the tools and resources that are available." 

Increasing communication 

Collinson believes that there are currently plenty of educational opportunities available to plan participants. The issue is figuring out how to get employees to utilize them. 

"My concern right now is rather than creating a bunch of new tools, really putting the ones that are available to the test, and then if some aren't working you can get some real feedback from the employees," she said.

Her plan is a back-to-basics effort which involves little or no-cost options such as a monthly or quarterly nudge to remind participants to visit the site and look at their plan, a communication campaign that works with the benefit advisor to consistently remind participants (perhaps via email) about the need for retirement education), and checking in with the benefits advisor to see if there have been any changes in the plan — contribution or participation rate increases, for example.

Collinson also suggests a simple 401(k) day, which pairs annual healthcare renewals with an opportunity to explore retirement plans.

"Benefits enrollment is an annual event, but unlike healthcare, with the 401(k) you're always enrolled," she said. "Why not have an annual day where you can get some messaging in to help employees think about contributions and investment options in their 401(k). If you combine it with their healthcare enrollment, you can do a retirement check and look at your benefits all at once."   

New tools

To respond to the increasing demand for education, many companies have opted to develop advanced educational tools to assist participants in getting the most out of their retirement plans. MetLife, for example, launched their PlanSmart workplace education program, which includes workshops, one-on-one education, and retirement transition assistance. MassMutual has their RetireSmart Ready campaign, an advanced online directive to help participants plan for retirement.

But according to Hanna, some of the current efforts aren't quite enough.

"Online tools can certainly act as a sugar on top, but we don't feel anything will replace someone working with them one-on-one," he said. "There are some folks that are certainly addressing and even bridging that gap, taking an online tool and beginning to personalize the experience for the participant, and that's better than nothing." 

Of course, it's not a replacement for one-on-one advice, Hanna said. But company size can make it difficult to provide a more intimate experience, he added.

One company is trying to create a more immediate, one-on-one experience using technology. Putnam recently created an iPhone app which allows users to see what the immediate effect of savings made during daily shopping trips might be on their retirement accounts.

The app, PriceCheck&Save, was born out of another advanced tool of Putnam's, the Lifetime Income Analysis Tool, an online platform which encourages participants to see their retirement savings through the lens of lifetime income earned rather than total balance.

"When we went about creating the iPhone app, it wasn't about creating the app; it was about moving the educational experience to a mobile platform," said Ed Murphy, Head of Defined Contribution at Putnam Investments. "It's not a focus on accumulation, although you do still see the account as a long term balance if you want to see it. It's interactive, and it's actionable; we carried those principles over into the app. It's really about showing how making everyday purchasing decisions can affect your retirement."

(Related: Putnam releases retirement app for iPhone)

Though the app is currently only available to registered Putnam account holders, Murphy said the company is working to expand the app to non-Putnam users.

In the time it takes to develop new technologies, however, companies need to focus on the tools that are available and make sure that employees are using them.

"Employers play such an important role by virtue of sponsoring the retirement plan," Collinson said. "It would be fantastic if employees got the full benefit of the plan … and the education that's available is, at this point, an underutilized benefit."