How do employees feel about their auto 401(k) plan?

A recent survey conducted on behalf of the Retirement Made Simpler (RMS) campaign by Harris Interactive® confirmed what many employers implementing automatic 401(k)s have come to find: Most employees appreciate automatic 401(k)s and find it makes saving easier. The study showed that of 696 adults currently enrolled in an automatic 401(k) plan:

• 98 percent agree they are glad their companies offer this savings vehicle, with 79 percent of them expressing strong agreement
• 95 percent agree that automatic enrollment has made saving for retirement easy
• 85 percent agree that automatic enrollment has allowed them to start saving for retirement earlier than planned

In addition, of those who were automatically enrolled only seven percent opted-out of the plan; of which a large majority reported being satisfied with the enrollment process overall.

“Many employers have been concerned that employees would not like automatic 401(k)s—hence they reported being reluctant to adopt them,” said Mary Schapiro, FINRA’s Chief Executive Officer. “But these results overwhelmingly dispel that myth, making automatic 401(k) adoption a win-win for employers and employees.”

Read the Retirement Made Simpler Employee Satisfaction Study