BLS Study Finds That Employer 401k Match Does Not Increase Participation Among Low Income Workers

Encouraging Participation in 401(k) Plans: Reconsidering the Employer Match, Keenan Dworak-Fisher, Office 0f Compensation and Working Conditions, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Excerpt from abstract:

The results of this analysis indicate that the effects of plan provisions vary dramatically between different income groups. The results among workers in the lowest income group comport with a growing consensus in the literature: employer matches have little or no effect on participation, while automatic enrollment has dramatic effects. But among workers in the middle income group, employer matches have substantial effects that may be larger than the effects of automatic enrollment.