Bigger is Better in 401k Plan Lineups

401k, menus, investments

More is more.

The dual concepts choice architecture and overload in behavioral economics dictate less is more; that offering too many options results in a “paralysis of analysis” that often leads to the easiest—but not necessarily the best—decision on the part of the individual. It’s something that held true for plan participants in the adoption and allocation decisions they made, or so we thought.

It turns out that more is more.

Past studies have found that smaller core menus improve participation rates and reduce choice overload, but a new white paper from Morningstar Investment Management, published Tuesday, concluded that plan sponsors should be doing the opposite.

In a new era with widespread adoption of automatic enrollment and default options, when it comes to DC plans, it turns out a bigger lineup is actually better.

The paper from David Blanchett, head of retirement research at Morningstar, examined 500 defined contribution (DC) plans with approximately a half-million participants.

Findings

It shows larger lineups offer the best of both worlds:

Exit mobile version