The Department of Labor submitted its investment safe harbor rule for 401(k) plans to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review on November 5, according to the federal Regulatory Information website.
The proposed rule, which was publicly released by the DOL in March, is intended to provide Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciaries of 401(k) and other defined contribution plans with clearer criteria for evaluating and selecting alternative investments including exposure to private-market assets.
The OMB approved the DOL’s proposal before it was released in March. The proposal then entered its rulemaking phase in June, at the end of its 60-day public comment period. Typically, this final review is the last step before a regulation’s publication.
The efforts began with an August 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump that directed the DOL, the Department of the Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal regulators to consider rule changes that would encourage adoption of private investments in defined contribution plans.
While the Trump administration has been promoting the expansion of private investments, the incoming majority-Democratic Congress could take an oppositional stance. Several leading Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, have been vocal critics of retirement plans investing in private assets.
House Returns to Bill for 403(b) Investments in CITs
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Rules plans to meet Monday to consider advancing the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025, which would allow many 403(b) retirement plans to invest in collective investment trusts.
The bipartisan bill was sponsored by Representatives Frank Lucas, R-Oklahoma, and Bill Foster, D-Illinois, in February 2025.
According to the House committee report on the bill, the legislation would amend federal securities laws to permit 403(b) plans sponsored by educational institutions, charities and other nonprofit employers to access investment vehicles that are already widely available within the DC market. Proponents argue the change would create greater investment parity between the two plan types while potentially giving 403(b) participants access to lower-cost institutional investment options.
The bill was previously incorporated into the broader Incentivizing New Ventures and Economic Strength Through Capital Formation Act (INVEST Act), which the House passed in December 2025, but which remains in committee in the Senate. Multiple retirement industry figures, including CEOs and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, have urged the Senate to pass the Invest Act, specifically citing the CITs issue.