##bling patterns : many workers do not participate, contribute only a small portion of their wages if they do participate, and make questionable investment and distribution choices. let me take a couple of minutes to cite some telling facts about individual savings in 401 ( k ) plans, suggesting that workers may not be giving adequate attention to their savings in the retirement plans sponsored by their employer. first, despite the tax advantages of 401 ( k ) contributions, one - quarter of workers eligible for 401 ( k ) plans do not participate at all, even if the employer would match a portion of their own contributions. 2 these workers are effectively giving up a pay raise. and among those that deloitte and touche, 2003 401 ( k ) annual benchmarking survey. contribute, many save just a little. in a survey last year, one - quarter of firms reported that their rankand - file 401 ( k ) participants saved an average of less than 4 percent of pay. 3 another concern relates to the way employees manage their 401 ( k ) plans. some participants simply invest contributions equally across the investment options or according to plan defaults, which in many cases is a low - risk, low - return money market fund. 4 and, as has been publicized widely in recent years, many 401 ( k ) participants invest heavily in employer stock. among companies that offer company stock as an investment option, more than one - quarter of 401 ( k ) balances are in company stock. 5 this high concentration cannot be attributed entirely to an employer match that is required to be held in company stock. instead, employees appear to voluntarily purchase abundant amounts of company stock, despite the obvious risk of linking their current income and retirement wealth to the financial health of their employer. these patterns are troubling because they raise doubts about the financial security of workers in later life. fortunately, new research in the discipline of behavioral finance provides some important insights into the behavior of 401 ( k ) participants and suggests some promising changes that can lead workers to make savings choices that will leave them better prepared for retirement. contrary to predictions of traditional finance theory, the way the retirement - plan options are framed affects the choices made by participants. as compelling evidence that framing matters, researchers have found that “ opt - out ” plans - those that automatically enroll workers unless they actively choose not to enroll - have substantially higher participation rates. 6 moreover, when defaults are designated, many workers tend to enroll using the default contribution rates and investment options and to leave

philip r lane : the brexit discontinuity speech by mr philip r lane, governor of the central bank of ireland, to the 2019 european financial forum, dublin, 13 february 2019. * * * introduction i am pleased to address the 2019 edition of the european financial forum. currently, both policy officials and private - sector participants in the global financial system are confronted with a combination of cyclical and structural concerns. at the cyclical level, the recent revision in global growth projections and the downside shift in the risk distribution require a careful assessment of the likely duration of adverse shocks and the potential offsetting impact of some mitigating stabilising factors : this exercise will be aided by the arrival of the incoming hard data on macroeconomic outcomes in the first months of 2019. at the structural level, longer - term prospects depend on the traditional determinants of global productivity ( such as investment and innovation rates ), the steady - state cross - country distribution of national income levels relative to the frontier and demographic trends. in addition, climate change ( together with the international policy response ) will exert an increasing influence on the path for global output. 1 however, both short - term and long - term prospects are currently also subject to an unusually high level of uncertainty about the paradigms governing policymaking. at the global level, the primary focus is on the future of the multilateral policy framework underpinning international trade. within europe, brexit constitutes another paradigmatic shift : the departure of the united kingdom from the european union represents a disruptive event across many dimensions, including the operation of the single market. a full analysis of such paradigmatic events requires a multi - field integrated approach that draws upon history, political science, international relations as well as economics and finance. i will not attempt such a comprehensive approach in this speech : rather, i will focus on some of the implications of brexit for the irish economy and the irish financial system. the central bank of ireland has been focused on brexit risks since the announcement of the 2016 uk referendum. our work has focused on ensuring that : ( i ) the risks to the irish economy and consumers are understood ; ( ii ) regulated firms prepare appropriately for all scenarios, in order to protect consumers ; ( iii ) where necessary, the required policy and legal adjustments are prepared to counteract the cliff - edge risks of a hard brexit to the delivery of vital financial services ; and ( iv ) we perform our gatekeeper