Only about half of all workers participate in employer-sponsored retirement plans. To foster greater participation among workers who have access to such plans, Congress passed a law that facilitates plan sponsors' adoption of automatic enrollment policies (AEP). To foster greater retirement savings among workers who do not have access to an employer-sponsored plan, proposals have been made for an "automatic IRA" and at the state level for state-based programs. This report determined: (1) what is known about the effect of AEP among the nation's 401(k) plans, and the extent of and future prospect for such policies; and (2) the potential benefits and limitations of automatic IRA proposals and state-assisted retirement savings proposals. Illus.