The Labor Department's final rule that could open 401(k) plans to alternative assets like private equity, real estate and cryptocurrency reached the White House on Thursday, the last review s
The Labor Department's final rule that could open 401(k) plans to alternative assets like private equity, real estate and cryptocurrency reached the White House on Thursday, the last review stop before public release.
The rule, called Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives, arrived at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Nov. 5, according to the office's public regulatory docket. That White House office vets every major federal regulation before it can be published.
The docket shows the review is still pending, with no legal deadline. The final text has not been made public, so the rule's exact terms are not yet known.
The Labor Department proposed the rule on March 30, and it was published in the Federal Register the next day. It would create a legal safe harbor for the managers who pick the investments on a 401(k) menu.
Image for representation purposes. Source: TheStreet RoundtableA safe harbor is a legal framework for showing that a manager followed a prudent selection process, not immunity from being sued. Under the proposal, managers who weigh six factors "objectively, thoroughly, and analytically" would fall inside that framework.
The rule would not force any employer to offer alternative assets. It also leaves in place the duty to keep monitoring whatever investments a plan already offers.
The Labor Department accepted public comments on the proposal through June 1.
The rulemaking follows an executive order President Donald Trump signed on Aug. 7, 2025, called Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors. It directed the Labor Department to clarify how plan managers can offer funds that hold alternative assets.
The order defines those assets broadly.
For crypto, that language points to managed funds that invest in digital assets. It does not mean workers would automatically be able to buy bitcoin directly inside a 401(k).
More than 90 million Americans save through workplace plans like 401(k)s, and most have no access to alternative assets today, the Labor Department said when it proposed the rule.
"Our goal is to deliver on President Trump's promise for a new golden age by fostering a retirement system that allows more Americans to retire with dignity," Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said at the time.
Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the department's "days of picking winners and losers are over," calling the proposal neutral between asset classes.
The push rolls back years of tighter guidance. In 2022, under President Joe Biden, the department told plan managers to use "extreme care" before adding cryptocurrency to 401(k) menus. It rescinded that guidance in May 2025.
Nothing changes right away. The rule must clear White House review, get published in the Federal Register and take effect before plan managers can rely on it.
Even then, your employer decides what appears on your 401(k) menu. The March proposal is built around asset allocation funds, managed products that bundle many investments together, rather than standalone picks.
Costs are the trade-off to watch. The proposal itself notes that alternative assets can carry higher fees, can be harder to sell and can be more difficult to price than the stock and bond funds most savers own today.
