The Labor Department's long-awaited regulation that could open workplace 401(k) plans to private equity, real estate and digital-asset funds has reached the White House for its final regulatory review, the last hurdle before the text becomes public.
The rule, formally titled Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives, was logged with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Nov. 5, according to the office's public docket. That office vets every major federal regulation before publication. The docket lists the review as pending and sets no legal deadline, and the final language has not been released, so the precise terms remain unknown.
At the center of the proposal is a legal safe harbor for the managers who choose the investments on a 401(k) menu. A safe harbor is a framework for demonstrating that a manager followed a prudent selection process; it does not shield a plan from litigation. Under the draft, managers who weigh six factors "objectively, thoroughly, and analytically" would fall within that protection.
Note: Factors as outlined in the Labor Department's March proposal.
The rule would not compel any employer to add alternative assets, and it leaves intact the duty to keep monitoring investments a plan already offers. The department took public comments through June 1.
The effort traces back to an executive order President Donald Trump signed on Aug. 7, 2025, titled Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors, which directed Labor to clarify how plan managers may offer funds holding alternatives. The order defines the category broadly: private-market investments that do not trade on public exchanges, real estate, actively managed funds that invest in digital assets, commodities, infrastructure projects and lifetime income strategies such as longevity risk-sharing pools.
For crypto, that language points to managed funds holding digital assets rather than direct purchases of bitcoin inside a 401(k). More than 90 million Americans save through workplace plans, and most have no access to alternatives today, the department said when it proposed the rule in March.
"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," describing the proposal as neutral across asset classes.
The measure rolls back years of tighter guidance. In 2022, under President Joe Biden, the department told plan managers to exercise "extreme care" before adding cryptocurrency to 401(k) menus, guidance it rescinded in May 2025.
The scale of the market is substantial. The Investment Company Institute reported $10.8 trillion in U.S. 401(k) assets as of June 30, 2026. That figure shows the size of the pool, not how much of it might flow into alternative assets. The department said it lacked data to estimate how many digital-asset firms might benefit and sought more information about companies marketing such products to retirement plans.
Nothing changes for savers immediately. The rule must clear White House review, be published in the Federal Register and take effect before plan managers can rely on it. Even then, employers decide what appears on a 401(k) menu, and the March proposal is built around asset-allocation funds that bundle many investments 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 hold today. Investment providers would still depend on plan fiduciaries selecting suitable products, with employers retaining responsibility for weighing options against participants' financial interests.
The docket entry confirms the rule has returned for final-stage review, not that it has been approved or has an effective date.
