For decades, the standard 401(k) menu has stuck to public stocks, bonds and target-date funds — the kind of holdings that trade daily and are easy to value. A presidential order signed just over a year ago set out to change that, directing federal regulators to clear a path for private equity, cryptocurrency and real estate inside the accounts most working Americans use to save for retirement.
The August 2025 Order: Private Equity, Crypto and Real Estate on the Menu
President Trump signed the order, titled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors,” on August 7, 2025. It instructs the Labor Secretary, working with the Treasury Department and the SEC, to review and clarify guidance on including private market investments and digital assets in retirement plans governed by federal pension law.
The order itself frames the current menu as too narrow, arguing that “regulatory overreach and encouragement of lawsuits” have kept 401(k) savers out of asset classes long available to pension funds and other large institutional investors, according to the text of the executive order. Within days, the Labor Department rescinded a 2021 statement that had cautioned plan fiduciaries against offering private equity — the first concrete step toward the order’s goal.
Free download: The 2026 estimated-tax and RMD dates, Medicare enrollment deadlines, and a checklist to stay ahead of penalties. Download the free retirement deadline calendar.
Free download from RetireShield. Getting it also signs you up for the free Retirement Money Brief, a weekday email. Unsubscribe anytime.
The DOL’s Rulemaking Clock: A February Deadline, Then Public Comment
The order set the Labor Department a 180-day deadline, landing on February 3, 2026, to review and clarify its fiduciary guidance. The department submitted a proposed rule to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review on January 13, 2026, ahead of that deadline. Once that review clears, the Employee Benefits Security Administration is expected to open the proposal for public comment, a step that typically runs 60 days on its own, according to reporting on the rule’s progress through the regulatory process.
That timeline means the order set the destination and the deadline, but the specific rules a 401(k) plan will have to follow before adding a private-equity fund, a crypto sleeve or a real estate vehicle to its menu are still being finalized inside the federal rulemaking process, not settled policy on day one.
Why ‘Opens the Door’ Doesn’t Mean Available Today
Even once a final rule is in place, nothing forces any 401(k) plan to add alternative assets. Plan sponsors — typically employers and the committees that oversee their retirement plans — still carry fiduciary responsibility for every investment option on the menu, and many are expected to move cautiously given the added complexity of valuing illiquid holdings like private equity or real estate inside a plan that lets participants move money daily. A worker’s ability to actually invest in these assets will depend on whether their specific employer’s plan chooses to add them, not on the executive order alone.
The Order Also Takes Aim at Fiduciary Litigation
Alongside the asset-menu language, the order directs regulators to prioritize actions that curb lawsuits against plan fiduciaries — a signal that the administration views litigation risk, as much as regulatory caution, as the reason alternative assets have stayed out of most retirement plans. Coverage of the signing described the order as directing agencies to examine ERISA’s fiduciary-duty rules specifically because that litigation exposure has made plan sponsors reluctant to add complex, harder-to-value holdings, according to reporting on the executive order at the time it was signed. Supporters argue that reducing that exposure will let plan committees consider a wider range of investments; critics have raised concerns about savers taking on harder-to-value, harder-to-exit holdings inside accounts meant to fund retirement.
What Changes for a Typical 401(k) Saver Right Now
For most savers checking their account today, nothing in the investment menu has changed yet. The order set policy direction and a rulemaking deadline; it did not, by itself, add a private-equity fund or a crypto option to any specific plan’s lineup. Anyone who sees “alternative assets” or “private markets” language appear in their plan’s fund list in the months ahead should treat it as their employer’s plan committee choosing to act once the DOL’s guidance is finalized, not as an automatic result of the executive order alone — and, like any unfamiliar fund option, it is worth reading the fund’s own disclosures on fees, liquidity and valuation before allocating a paycheck contribution to it.
Reading an Executive Order Before It’s a Rule
An executive order that reshapes what belongs in a 401(k) also reshapes the tax and withdrawal decisions that come after retirement, from how an account’s balance gets divided among ordinary income, IRMAA thresholds and Roth space to when required withdrawals begin.
The Retirement Tax & Withdrawal Planner is a 12-page planner with four calculators covering provisional income, IRMAA tier, RMD schedule and Roth bracket fill, plus the account withdrawal order.
Plan a withdrawal order around a changing 401(k) menu with The Retirement Tax & Withdrawal Planner.
This article was reported and written with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by The Financial Wire editorial team.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
