The rules of the U.S. Department of Labor regarding 401(k) alternative assets were submitted to the White House on Thursday for final review, advancing a regulatory measure one step further. This measure will relax the conditions for including private equity, real estate, and cryptocurrencies in retirement plans.

The final rules have currently been submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs ( Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs ). This step usually indicates that the rules are nearing completion and will soon be made public. The measure involves the process of adding alternative investments to the 401(k) investment menu.

The U.S. Department of Labor proposed this regulatory rule on March 30, 2026. During the public comment period, the proposal received thousands of feedbacks, and subsequently, the final rule entered the review phase at the White House.

401(k) Alternative Assets Rules Include Trustee “Safe Harbor” Provisions

The proposal states that if a trustee wishes to qualify as a 'safe harbor', they must meet six criteria, which are: performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, performance benchmarks, and complexity.

This article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and has been reviewed by an editorial team.

Amelia Tomasicchio

As a digital marketing expert, Amelia entered the fintech industry in 2014 after completing a thesis on Bitcoin technology. She had previously contributed to several international cryptocurrency-related magazines and served as the chief marketing officer for Eidoo. Today, she is a co-founder of The Cryptonomist. She also works as a marketing instructor at Digital Coach in Milan and has published a book about NFT for the Italian publisher Mondadori. Additionally, she is helping artists and businesses enter this field. As a consultant, Amelia has also participated in projects related to the metaverse, such as The Nemesis and OVER.