Beshears, JohnChoi, James J.Laibson, DavidMadrian, Brigitte2012-11-202012-11-20Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David I. Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. Forthcoming. Simplification and saving. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.0167-2681http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:9925399The daunting complexity of important financial decisions can lead to procrastination. We evaluate a low-cost intervention that substantially simplifies the retirement savings plan participation decision. Individuals received an opportunity to enroll in a retirement savings plan at a pre-selected contribution rate and asset allocation, allowing them to collapse a multidimensional problem into a binary choice between the status quo and the pre-selected alternative. The intervention increases plan enrollment rates by 10–20 percentage points. We find that a similar intervention can be used to increase contribution rates among employees who are already participating in a savings plan.en-USretirement savingssimplificationprocrastinationbehavioral economicsJournal Article2012-11-2010.1016/j.jebo.2012.03.007