My former Synagogue wanted Hebrew school parents to attend Synagogue events, so they created a participation fee where parents would have to pay $180 that they could use to attend events. Before I was involved as a Trustee and a Vice President, there were no events and parents resented they had to pay this fee. When I was in the “leadership”, there were enough events for that fee to be used. After I left, the place became a funeral home, except with very few funerals. When it comes to participation in a 401(k) plan, plan sponsors can’t use a participation fee to force participants to defer. There are quite a few tools out there to increase plan participation that doesn’t have to cost plan sponsors much money in terms of contributions and plan expenses.