A new report by Fidelity Investments shows that the Pension Protection Act of 2006 has had a positive impact on both 401(k) plan design and participant savings behaviors. The report found that more than half of Fidelity's 401(k) participants are now in plans that offer auto enrollment, up from just 16 percent five years ago. This has had an enormous effect on participation rates. The percentage of plans defaulting participants into age-based lifecycle funds has soared to 73 percent from just 11 percent.

"The PPA is proving to be one of the most significant legislative initiatives helping American workers save for retirement," said James M. MacDonald, president of workplace investing for  Fidelity Investments. "While the PPA enabled sweeping reforms across workplace retirement savings plans for all workers, it has had the greatest impact on younger investors. The auto features have significantly boosted participation among younger workers and have simplified the investing process, giving them a solid start to investing for the future."

The PPA initially focused on pension plan reforms, but it had far-reaching positive implications for workplace retirement plan design features, such as auto enrollment, default options and in-plan Roth deferrals. The law has made it easier for workplace investors to save for retirement across a number of investment vehicles, including 401(k)s, IRAs, tax-exempt 403(b)s and pension plans.