US Lawmakers Push Back on Labor Dept’s Plans to Include Crypto in 401(k)s

Top Democrats on three House and Senate committees called on the US Labor Department to halt its plans to allow digital assets and "alternative assets" to be held in Americans' retirement plans. In a Tuesday letter, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Bobby Scott asked acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling to rescind the department’s proposal to allow private equity, digital assets, private credit, and other "alternative assets" to be included in 401(k) plans.

They said the policy would "expose retirement accounts to exceptionally volatile assets, like digital currency," citing a "lack of regulation and safeguards" putting many cryptocurrencies at risk of fraud. As the ranking members of the Senate Banking Committee, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and House Committee on Education and Workforce, respectively, they said that the current administration had weakened enforcement of crypto fraud at financial agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

United States

labor department, 401(k), digital assets, alternative assets, bernie sanders, elizabeth warren, bobby scott, keith sonderling, private equity, sec