Well, this is a new one for me. Apparently because I'm a highly compensated employee per the IRS non-discrimination rules, and not enough lower paid employees are contributing to our company's plan, my contributions will be capped at 10% and I won't be able to take advantage of the full $18,500.
So, I'm going to be getting extra money in my next paycheck. And I'm more than a little annoyed.
http://time.com/money/3898903/retirement-high-income-401k/
Can you push to make signups automatic for everyone unless the specifically opt out? That would increase the number of people contributing. My company auto enrolls you at 6%, then it increases by 1% every year up to 10%. I'm sure some people opt out, but it's less than the number of people who never opt in.
Dan Ariely has a interesting book Titled 'Predictbly Irrational', The hidden forces that shape our Decisions.
I can't locate the exact numbers, but two European countries with similar culture, one has an organ donation rate twice that of the other. The difference, one is on opt-in, the other opt-out.
Some of it deals with other aspects of money, spending, value, etc.
Ariely was a burn victim, one section is about treatment and weather it was tailored for comfort of the treating nurses or comfort of the patient.
I'm not a big reader, but I bought the book after seeing an interview of him. I thought it important enough to have both my kids read it.
Editorial Reviews,
From Publishers Weekly
Irrational behavior is a part of human nature, but as MIT professor Ariely has discovered in 20 years of researching behavioral economics, people tend to behave irrationally in a predictable fashion. Drawing on psychology and economics, behavioral economics can show us why cautious people make poor decisions about sex when aroused, why patients get greater relief from a more expensive drug over its cheaper counterpart and why honest people may steal office supplies or communal food, but not money. According to Ariely, our understanding of economics, now based on the assumption of a rational subject, should, in fact, be based on our systematic, unsurprising irrationality. Ariely argues that greater understanding of previously ignored or misunderstood forces (emotions, relativity and social norms) that influence our economic behavior brings a variety of opportunities for reexamining individual motivation and consumer choice, as well as economic and educational policy. Ariely's intelligent, exuberant style and thought-provoking arguments make for a fascinating, eye-opening read. (Feb.)
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Review
“This is a wonderful, eye-opening book. Deep, readable, and providing refreshing evidence that there are domains and situations in which material incentives work in unexpected ways. We humans are humans, with qualities that can be destroyed by the introduction of economic gains. A must read!”