Millennials are saving more in their 401(k) plans, despitepopular perceptions of the age group as not being a bunch ofsavers.

That’s according to a new white paper from Vanguard, which alsofound that millennials are putting more moneyinto equities despite their perception as equity-averse.

Read: Are advisors avoidingmillennials?

But before millennials get too much credit for being savvysavers and daring investors, context needs to be considered.

The white paper, “The auto savings generation: Steering millennialsto better retirement outcomes,” pointed out that participationrates, saving rates and equity allocations for millennials (thoseaged 18–34) have been rising over the last 10 years in definedcontribution (DC) plans.

That’s despite the havoc that the Great Recession wreaked on thejob market and income potential for that age group inparticular.

Read: Millennialschoose--annuities?

But—and it’s a big but—“the advent of automatic plan designfeatures and the increasing adoption of target-date funds have putmillennials on the right path to retirement readiness,” the papersaid.

In 2013, millennials had a higher 401(k) participation rate thandid participants in the comparable age group back in 2003. Butthat’s largely because of plans designed to feature automaticenrollment, the paper said.

Vanguard plans that have auto enrollment, it reported, saw 87percent of millennials participating in 2013.

That’s a whopping 70 percent higher than the comparable agegroup back in 2003. “With the continued evolution and improvementof DC plans,” said the white paper, “millennial investors are thefirst generation with access to automatic plan features from thebeginning of their working years.”

And it shows. The “set it and forget it” features of autoenrollment and target-date funds have kept millennials better ontrack than they would be if left to their own devices.

“Median equity allocations rose to 89 percent in 2013,” thepaper said, “up from 82 percent in 2003, primarily due to climbingadoption of target-date funds.”