We have $2700 we wouldn't have otherwise...
because of automatic enrollment.
My husband was given a form to fill out some time ago, if he DIDN'T want to participate in a 401K. If he didn't turn in the form, they were going to take 3% of his pay out automatically. Well, we kept forgetting about it and procrastinating, and it started getting taken out.
Now the balance is $2700, which I'm sure we'd never have gotten put away for retirement on our own. It would be even higher if we'd bothered to choose something beyond the money market fund, where it went automatically! (Just within the past month, I finally signed DH up for online access to his account. We now have it set up to go in a balanced fund and a guaranteed insurance thing that pays better interest than the MM.)
I think there's something to be said for taking advantage of people's laziness--for their own good.
(Edit - I was assuming the regulation would back companies for doing what DH's did, and still give the employee the ability to opt out. Many of the other commenters seem to think everyone would be forced to participate. Does anyone know the particulars?)
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