Automatic enrollment is a plan design feature that enables participants to automatically contribute to their 401(k) plan. The plan will automatically deduct funds for their 401(k) accounts. Employers set the default contribution rate, and employees can adjust or opt-out at any time. Automatic escalation takes the contribution rate a participant starts with and increases the rate by 1% every year until they hit a maximum cap of 15%. Both of these 401(k) features are extremely important given the recent SECURE 2.0 legislation. It mandates that beginning in 2025, new 401(k) plans must have both auto-enrollment & auto-escalation.