Lars Larson: People plan better when government doesn’t force them

by Lars Larson

Guess what? People do better on their own if the government isn’t telling them how to plan for their own future, and I’ve got proof.

There’s a brand new study out on 401(k)s. You know, where you put money aside for your retirement. I’ve got one; many of you do as well.

Some of the companies that offer these 401(k) plans were allowed back in the mid-2000’s to start mandating that people be enrolled in them. In other words, they forced their employees to do the “right thing”.

So you get more compliance, right? No, wrong.

It turns out when you study millions of these accounts around the country, those people who are allowed to voluntarily enroll in a 401(k) put more money away. Those people who were forced to do it, because the government allows employers to force them to do the “right thing”, put less money away.

If the government would just leave Americans alone, let them make their own decisions and understand the consequences, we’d all be better off.