The National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) is the professional association for the equivalent of the chief financial officer in all 50 states, D.C., and the territories. Not only are they the state treasurers, but they also could be the directors of 529 savings plans, ABLE savings plans, state debt management, investments, and sometimes pension and retirement programs, as well as the fun one – unclaimed property.

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.