Data released by Fidelity Investment, a large provider of U.S. workplace retirement savings plans, reveals that the number of Fidelity plans offering auto enrollment in 401(k)-type defined contribution plans increased nearly 70 percent from the end of 2007 through March 2009. While automatic enrollment plans still represent just 16.3 percent of 401(k) plans that Fidelity manages, nearly half of all participants are in a plan with auto enrollment
Data also showed that:
• The majority (56 percent) of participants who were enrolled automatically made less than $40,000 a year.
• Among the participants that were auto enrolled, only 10 percent had higher salaries ranging from $80,000 to $150,000 a year.
"There is no doubt that auto enrollment has helped many new hires, especially younger workers, get started on their way to saving,".
