Defined contribution plan sponsors who have yet to get on board with auto-enrollment — a trend that began more than a decade ago — are now in the minority. One study published last week in Science magazine found that 56% auto-enroll participants — up sharply from 19% back in 2005. The study by behavioral economists Shlomo Benartzi and Richard Thayler also found that a slim majority (51%) of sponsors has embraced auto-escalation of deferral amounts.
While the numbers are moving in the right direction, how far should plan advisers go to encourage the hold-outs to get on board, or push those sponsors that have taken a timid initial approach get more aggressive?
