<prompt> Human: Whether or not its a good idea to be a part of a companies 401k is not the question here. So essentially during open enrollment the employer offers you the ability to join in the 401k program. This particular program is pretty darn weak, 25 cents on the dollar match and you have to be there at least 5 years to be fully vested and for reasons not pertinent to the dilemma I chose not to enroll. Heres the thing. If you want to opt out, they want you to fill out the application forms in full anyways. Were talking name, address, social, names, birthdays, socials and such of dependents, spouses as well as beneficiaries. ... Its a LOT of personal information that they want on you and several other people, only to check a box at the end that says you arent interested. My first open enrollment I politely declined. They persisted. I checked the box that says I decline, signed and dated it and handed it back. They pressed and said I had to fill out the entire thing... I politely told them to choose between the trash can and accepting it as-is. This cant be legal and certainly isnt ethical. I scolded them for acting as an agent for the company by telling employees they must fill it out because most people there do whatever they are told... Now my wife started work there and they gave her the same song and dance... to which she gave them the same response...Its really bizarre...I know this isnt a legal group but does anyone here in finance know of a logical reason they would be so aggressive in coercing employees out of such personal information to hand over to a company the employee has zero business dealings with? In my case HR pushed it all the way up to the Director of Finance who came to me personally and simply said, dont worry about that 401k form, smiled and walked away... They since have not even asked at each subsequent open enrollment.  <response>: If you want help with a legal issue, look elsewhere. The only advice youll get here is that you should be signed up for the 401k anyways. 