About the Brief

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The brief presents initial findings on the effects of an email designed to encourage U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) employees to increase their contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)—a plan similar to 401(k) plans in the private sector—and take full advantage of the available employer match. The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and DOL’s Human Resources (HR) department, in partnership with the DOL Behavioral Interventions (DOL-BI) team, tested the effectiveness of an email carefully tailored to employees who were contributing less than 5 percent of their salary, the amount needed to receive the full employer matching contribution. The message built on retirement planning resources that are already available to federal employees and drew on findings from behavioral research to address mental barriers that may prevent individuals from saving for retirement. The new email was sent to half of the 4,078 DOL employees that either were not participating in the TSP or were contributing less than 5 percent. The message’s effect on TSP savings was measured using DOL records of retirement contributions made six weeks after the email was sent. In this brief, researchers report on how the study and the email were designed, and present findings on the email’s effect on employees’ TSP participation and contribution levels.

Citation

Chojnacki, G., Amin, S., Perez-Johnson, I., Darling, M., Moorthy, A., Lefkowitz, J. (2016). Mathematica. Single Email Prompts Individuals to Increase Retirement Savings. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.