Can you feel it? A slight change in the air. A crispness that you don’t remember being there last week. It’s true! Autumn is coming in two days and we’re ending the month with plenty-o-updates. So grab a milkshake (we take ours malted) and settle in:

• Research docket and wealth gap surprises with Morningstar’s Aron Szapiro

• State Auto IRA metrics – 36,000 new funded accounts in one month

• A closer look at … Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York

• Can friction benefit retirement savers? Yes! Behavioral scientist Lindsay Juarez explains

• Hot Sauce! Fresh research and some brain expanders

• And, Pix of the week

As a retirement program manager, one of your biggest hurdles is getting people to open and fund an account. Behavioral science and a careful look at human decision making can help overcome this first step. Using defaults can increase the proportion of employees enrolled in a program. Leveraging precommitments can help people overcome procrastination and keep contributions in line with inflation. These changes can shift participation by impressive amounts!

Defaults and Anchors are powerful because they operate on three behavioral principles. They make choices easy. They provide an implicit endorsement. And they endow users with a status quo that they have to actively choose to change. How can you use defaults and anchors to give your users a big nudge toward better outcomes? With Perry Wright of Duke University.