Employees feel incapable of making choices regarding their financial future and, if faced with too many choices, will simply fail to make a decision. This is according to a new survey that finds that employees are more likely to participate fully in defined contribution 401(k)-type plans if their choices are limited. For this reason an increasing number of firms are making enrollment automatic unless the employee elects not to participate. 42% go farther and automatically select an investment vehicle for contributions (stable value funds are the most common) unless the participant makes an alternate selection.

Alliance Bernstein survey, 2007