Influencing Retirement Savings Decisions with Automatic Enrollment and Related Tools
By John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian Historically, retirees in the US relied on the “three-legged stool” of Social Security, defined benefit (DB) pension plans, and personal savings to provide retirement income.1 Beginning in the late 1970s, however, access to DB plans began to fall while access to defined contribution (DC) plans, which require individuals to make their own savings plan contributions and investment decisions during their working years, rose.2 As of December 2023, retirement assets in...
