The United Kingdom is rolling out a broad retirement savings initiative that is far more ambitious than President Barack Obama's recently announced MyRA program, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Both aim to encourage retirement saving among workers who do not currently participate in employer plans, typically those with average to low incomes; both also steer new participants initially into low-risk investments, the center said in a report this week.

But the U.K. requires all employers to “auto-enroll” their uncovered workers, with the right to opt out. And the government created a new non-profit entity, the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), to provide employers with high-quality, low-cost plans. In addition, the plans' target date funds start young workers with low-risk investments to avoid losses that could discourage saving.