IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ifs/ifsewp/19-07.html

The effect of automatic enrolment on employees working for small employers

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan Cribb

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies)

  • Carl Emmerson

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies)

Abstract

Existing evidence on the effectiveness of automatic enrolment is focused on large employers. We compare pension savings of employees working for small employers who were pseudo-randomly affected by automatic enrolment with those working for small employers who, at the same moment in time, were not. We find that automatic enrolment substantially increased workplace pension participation among those working for small employers by around 45 percentage points to reach 70% of targeted employees – with most, but not all, brought in at relatively low rates of pension saving. Despite this large increase, this leaves pension participation substantially below the very high levels (around 90%) seen under automatic enrolment among the largest employers in the United Kingdom and the United States. We find evidence that this lower participation rate is not explained either by differences in the observed characteristics of workers between smaller and larger employers, or by differences in the pension contributions offered by employers.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Cribb & Carl Emmerson, 2019. "The effect of automatic enrolment on employees working for small employers," IFS Working Papers W19/07, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:19/07
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/publications/wps/WP201907.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gruber, Jonathan & Lettau, Michael, 2004. "How elastic is the firm's demand for health insurance?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(7-8), pages 1273-1293, July.
    2. Matthew Rabin & Ted O'Donoghue, 1999. "Doing It Now or Later," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(1), pages 103-124, March.
    3. David I. Laibson & Andrea Repetto & Jeremy Tobacman, 1998. "Self-Control and Saving for Retirement," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 29(1), pages 91-196.
    4. Edward P. Lazear & Kathryn L. Shaw, 2007. "Personnel Economics: The Economist's View of Human Resources," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(4), pages 91-114, Fall.
    5. Robert H. Topel & Michael P. Ward, 1992. "Job Mobility and the Careers of Young Men," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(2), pages 439-479.
    6. John Beshears & James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2010. "The Impact of Employer Matching on Savings Plan Participation under Automatic Enrollment," NBER Chapters, in: Research Findings in the Economics of Aging, pages 311-327, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Jonathan Cribb & Carl Emmerson, 2016. "What happens when employers are obliged to nudge? Automatic enrolment and pension saving in the UK," IFS Working Papers W16/19, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    8. Duflo, Esther & Saez, Emmanuel, 2002. "Participation and investment decisions in a retirement plan: the influence of colleagues' choices," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 121-148, July.
    9. Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Kassenboehmer, Sonja C. & Sinning, Mathias G., 2016. "Locus of control and savings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 113-130.
    10. John Beshears & James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2009. "The Importance of Default Options for Retirement Saving Outcomes: Evidence from the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Social Security Policy in a Changing Environment, pages 167-195, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Romano, Joseph P. & Wolf, Michael, 2016. "Efficient computation of adjusted p-values for resampling-based stepdown multiple testing," Statistics & Probability Letters, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 38-40.
    12. Roger Feldman & Bryan Dowd & Scott Leitz & Lynn A. Blewett, 1997. "The Effect of Premiums on the Small Firm's Decision to Offer Health Insurance," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(4), pages 635-658.
    13. Gallo, Giovanni & Torricelli, Costanza & van Soest, Arthur, 2018. "Individual heterogeneity and pension choices: Evidence from Italy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 260-281.
    14. Joseph P. Romano & Michael Wolf, 2005. "Stepwise Multiple Testing as Formalized Data Snooping," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 73(4), pages 1237-1282, July.
    15. Brigitte C. Madrian & Dennis F. Shea, 2001. "The Power of Suggestion: Inertia in 401(k) Participation and Savings Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(4), pages 1149-1187.
    16. Bridget Fisher & Teresa Ghilarducci, 2017. "State Retirement Reform: Lifting Up Best Practices," SCEPA publication series. 2017-02, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School.
    17. Beshears, John & Choi, James J. & Laibson, David & Madrian, Brigitte C., 2013. "Simplification and saving," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 130-145.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jonathan Cribb & Carl Emmerson, 2016. "What happens when employers are obliged to nudge? Automatic enrolment and pension saving in the UK," IFS Working Papers W16/19, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    2. Francisco Gomes & Michael Haliassos & Tarun Ramadorai, 2021. "Household Finance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 59(3), pages 919-1000, September.
    3. Beshears, John & Choi, James J. & Laibson, David & Madrian, Brigitte C., 2008. "How are preferences revealed?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(8-9), pages 1787-1794, August.
    4. A Lusardi & J Skinner & S Venti, 2001. "Saving puzzles and saving policies in the United States," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 17(1), pages 95-115, Spring.
    5. Börsch-Supan, Axel & Bucher-Koenen, Tabea & Hurd, Michael D. & Rohwedder, Susann, 2023. "Saving regret and procrastination," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    6. van Rooij, Maarten & Teppa, Federica, 2014. "Personal traits and individual choices: Taking action in economic and non-economic decisions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 33-43.
    7. Beshears, John & Kosowsky, Harry, 2020. "Nudging: Progress to date and future directions," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 161(S), pages 3-19.
    8. Jonathan Cribb & Carl Emmerson, 2020. "What happens to workplace pension saving when employers are obliged to enrol employees automatically?," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(3), pages 664-693, June.
    9. Gary V. Engelhardt & Anil Kumar, 2007. "Employer Matching and 401(k) Saving: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study," NBER Chapters, in: Public Policy and Retirement, Trans-Atlantic Public Economics Seminar (TAPES), pages 1920-1943, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Halit Yanıkkaya & Zeynep Aktaş Koral & Sadettin Haluk Çitçi, 2023. "The Power of Financial Incentives versus the Power of Suggestion for Individual Pension: Are Financial Incentives or Automatic Enrollment Policies More Effective?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-18, February.
    11. Cox, James C. & Kreisman, Daniel & Dynarski, Susan, 2020. "Designed to fail: Effects of the default option and information complexity on student loan repayment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    12. Engelhardt, Gary V. & Madrian, Brigitte C., 2004. "Employee Stock Purchase Plans," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 57(2), pages 385-406, June.
    13. Keenan Dworak-Fisher, 2011. "Matching Matters in 401(k) Plan Participation," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(4), pages 713-737, October.
    14. Bing Han & David Hirshleifer & Johan Walden, 2023. "Visibility Bias in the Transmission of Consumption Beliefs and Undersaving," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 78(3), pages 1647-1704, June.
    15. Døskeland, Trond & Martuza, Jareef Bin & Pedersen, Lars Jacob Tynes & Santos, Francisco & Sjåstad, Hallgeir & Thorbjørnsen, Helge, 2025. "The role of social norms in retirement saving: Evidence from two natural field experiments," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    16. Vincent Somville & Lore Vandewalle, 2018. "Saving by Default: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Rural India," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 39-66, July.
    17. Ngoc Dao, 2024. "Does a requirement to offer retirement plans help low‐income workers save for retirement? Early evidence from the OregonSaves program," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(3), pages 524-543, July.
    18. Julie Janssens & Natascha Van Mechelen, 2017. "Who is to Blame? An Overview of the Factors Contributing to the Non-Take-Up of Social Rights," Working Papers 1708, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    19. Keane, Claire & O'Malley, Seamus & Tuda, Dora, 2021. "The Distributional Impact of Pension Auto-enrolment," Papers WP707, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    20. Goda, Gopi Shah & Levy, Matthew R. & Flaherty Manchester, Colleen & Sojourner, Aaron & Tasoff, Joshua & Xiao, Jiusi, 2023. "Are retirement planning tools substitutes or complements to financial capability?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 561-573.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:19/07. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emma Hyman (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ifsssuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.