Making It Easy

In October 2012, UK employers were told to automatically enroll their workers into a pension scheme. This default switch increased overall participation rates in pension schemes from 61% to 83%. Another way the team made it easy was by reducing the hassle attached to certain activities. For example, putting a hand-written post-it note on envelopes increased the response rate to a survey from 19% to 36%. Personalising this message even with only the recipient's occupation significantly improved action. The behaviour insights team truly quantified this power with a trial aimed at encouraging doctors to pay outstanding tax.