401(k), Roth Accounts Have More New Enrollees Than Ever: Merrill

More employees are enrolling in their workplace retirement plan than ever before, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Plan Wellness Scorecard.

The report finds that both 401(k) and Roth accounts saw an influx in new enrollees.

The number of employees who enrolled for the first time in their employer’s 401(k) plan increased 44% year over year.

“On average, the number of pretax contributors has grown by 54,000 each month in 2015 compared to the year before,” the report states.

Meanwhile, Roth accounts saw a 21% increase in the total number of contributors from the first half of 2014 compared to the first half of 2015 and a 20% increase in the average contribution amount during the same time period.

The report’s financial benefit plan data is based on Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s proprietary 401(k) business, which comprises $136.3 billion in plan assets across more than 2.6 million participants.

The Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Plan Wellness Scorecard also discloses trends in how employees are engaging with financial benefit plans and how employers are adopting plan features that make savings easier.

The report finds that tools that simplify enrollment continue to lead to better plan outcomes.

“Automatic enrollment, the simplest form of enrollment, removes all up-front decisions for employees,” the report states. “When designed with participant engagement in mind and alongside other effective automatic features like automatic investment and automatic increase, automatic enrollment stands out as the most effective enrollment method for employers to drive participation and plan wellness.”

According to BofA Merrill Lynch, the number of 401(k) plans combining auto enrollment and auto increase grew 40% during the first half of the year.