When I was growing up, my mother decided to make the living room a no man’s land (only for parties and special occasions) because she needed it to be the perfect room. I never understood that because things that serve a purpose are meant to be used. The same can be said about 401(k) plans. They are adopted by employers to encourage retirement savings by their employees by providing this wonderful employee benefit. The problem is that participant deferral rates are still mediocre and employers don’t do a whole lot to encourage their employees to contribute on their own. This article is about why you should encourage your employees to save for retirement and the ways you can encourage them to do so which benefits them and more importantly, benefits you as an employer/plan sponsor.