Business has been good in 2017 for advisers who consult on how employer-sponsored retirement plans should be designed. A lot of money is at stake, with $7.3tn in defined contribution retirement programmes like 401k plans.
Advisers are increasingly shaping DC programmes to nudge Americans towards saving for retirement. On average, 46 per cent of clients advised by the FT 401 automatically enrol new employees in their DC plans unless they opt out. This is up from 37 per cent of clients as reported by the 2015 FT 401. Similarly, 30 per cent of their client plans each year automatically increase the portion of pay that workers contribute to the DC plans — that is up from 25 per cent of plans as reported by the 2015 FT 401. Both these automated features increase the amount of money that is being advised, but the steps are mainly intended to boost the likelihood that employees have a decent nest egg when they hit retirement age.
https://www.ft.com/content/180b0b9e-72eb-11e7-93ff-99f383b09ff9