A recent academic study found that automatically enrolling new employees in 401(k)s increases net contributions by less than 1% of workers’ income annually. Factors like job turnover temper its impact and the gains that may arise from automatically boosting participants’ saving rate each year. Members of Gen X—born between 1965 and 1980—who have saved in the same plan for 15 years have an average balance of $554,000 versus $182,100 for Gen Xers overall.