Is the automatic enrollment plan created by the Pension Protection Act available now?
Rev. 10/27/06, E-mail Alert 2006-21

In a word, no. There has been a great deal of interest in automatic enrollment and much has been written on the subject since the Pension Protection Act (PPA) created new automatic enrollment plan enhancements.

Automatic enrollment has existed as a plan provision since 1998. So there currently are automatic enrollment provisions available — and the current provisions will continue to be available in future years. However, the PPA’s new “ qualified automatic contribution arrangement ” with its escalating minimum contribution schedule and safe harbor contribution feature will not be available until 2008.