two silhouetted people on top of 3 arrows Active choice is a way of presenting a choice thatrequires participant engagement. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Choice architecture is the practice of influencing choice bychanging the way options are presented to people. The concept washighlighted by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein in their 2008book Nudge: Improving decisions abouthealth, wealth, and happiness.  As a plan sponsor, you may frequently find yourselfin the role of a choice architect. Your job is to present participants with choices: participation,savings rate, investment options, education opportunities, andmore. The way you present these choices can have a substantialimpact on participants' experience and outcomes.

Active choice is a way of presenting a choice that requiresparticipant engagement. For example, active choice enrollmentrequires employees to actively make the decision to participate, ornot, in their retirement plan.

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