-cost intervention that substantially simplifies the retirement savings plan participation decision. Individuals received an opportunity … to enroll in a retirement savings plan at a pre-selected contribution rate and asset allocation, allowing them to … increase contribution rates among employees who are already participating in a savings plan …

private sector, defined benefit (DB) pensions are still the norm in the public sector. However, a few jurisdictions have … shifted towards defined contribution (DC) plans as their primary savings plan, and fiscal pressures are likely to generate … retirement in other accounts. There is also substantial heterogeneity across jurisdictions in the savings generated in primary DC …

This paper summarizes the empirical evidence on how defaults impact retirement savings outcomes. After outlining the … defaults impact retirement savings outcomes at all stages of the savings lifecycle, including savings plan participation …, savings rates, asset allocation, and post-retirement savings distributions. The paper then discusses why defaults have such a …

We assess the impact on savings behavior of several different 401(k) plan features, including automatic enrollment … education. We also present new survey evidence on individual savings adequacy. Many of our conclusions are based on an analysis … of micro-level administrative data on the 401(k) savings behavior of employees in several large corporations that …

Defined contribution (DC) pensions are an increasingly important means of financing retirement consumption. Because …

Automatic enrollment is often used to increase retirement savings. What are the effects of using it (or, alternatively …, requiring an active enrollment choice) to increase short-term savings? We evaluate two experiments in the U.K. at employers that … enable workers to set up payroll contributions to fund short-term savings accounts. In the first experiment (N = 7 …

In randomized field experiments, we embedded one- to two-sentence anchoring, goal-setting, or savings threshold cues in … emails to employees about their 401(k) savings plan. We find that anchors increase or decrease 401(k) contribution rates by … up to 1.9% of income. A high savings goal example raises contribution rates by up to 2.2% of income. Highlighting a …

on savings. Low-saving employees received simplified plan enrollment or contribution increase forms. A randomized subset …>decreased</i> the savings of non-participants who were ineligible for 401(k) automatic enrollment, and higher observed peer savings … rates also decreased savings. Discouragement from upward social comparisons seems to drive this reaction …

Medium- and long-run dynamics undermine the effect of automatic enrollment and default savings-rate auto-escalation on … retirement savings. Our analysis of nine 401(k) plans incorporates the facts that employees frequently leave firms (often before …

created when the U.S. Army began automatically enrolling newly hired civilian employees into the Thrift Savings Plan. Four …