"If we believe ... a new study from the very prestigious National Bureau of Economic Research, the answer is yes," says Dr. Walden, a North Carolina Cooperative Extension specialist.

"What this study did was compare two companies: Each company had a different savings plan for their employees. One company made their employees complete a lot of forms with a lot of information. The other company had a very quick enrollment plan for saving.

"I think to perhaps one's surprise, participation in the savings plan in the quick enrollment company, so to speak, was much higher than participation in the savings plan for the company that made you read a lot of stuff and fill out a lot of forms," he explains. "And what this suggests, of course, is [that] people are busy.

"Many people, perhaps, are unwilling to take the time that is required if you have to go through a lot of complicated reading and form filling out to set up, in this case, something like a savings plan.

"And so in this case simple is better," he concludes. "You can get the savings rate higher. One downside of the easier approach is that people, by not being forced to read information ... may overlook some crucial data."