US (AMERICANS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM) : The DOL just opened the door to a retirement disaster.

 

The Department of Labor just proposed a rule that would allow private equity firms and crypto companies to move into workers’ individual retirement accounts, opening the door for some of the riskiest, least transparent investments in the financial system to be packaged as prudent retirement options. These are the same firms with a track record of bankrupting companies, stripping assets, and walking away richer while workers and communities are left behind. Now they want access to defined contribution plans—a pool of money that has been protected from the most egregious excesses of Wall Street up until now. The Department of Labor is trying to sell this as modernization. They are calling it democratization, diversification, and expanded choice. That framing collapses under even basic scrutiny. Private equity hides fees, locks up capital, and relies on aggressive financial engineering. Crypto swings wildly, operates with limited oversight, and has already wiped out billions in investor value. Private equity is already spending millions trying to rebrand itself as a steward of retirement savings, even as it’s struggling to raise funds from traditional investors who are fleeing for the doors. This rule is the policy version of that rebrand. It takes the same harmful model and tries to slip it into 401(k)s under a new label. Wall Street is gearing up to flood this process with industry-backed comments meant to make this look harmless. With the June 1 deadline closing in, we have a narrow window to build the kind of overwhelming public opposition that can actually stop this. Submit your official comment right now demanding that the Department of Labor block private equity and crypto from retirement accounts and protect workers’ savings. SIGN & SEND This rule weakens fiduciary responsibility at the exact moment it should be strengthened. Retirement plans exist to provide stability and security after decades of work. The timing of this rule is no accident. Wall Street wants access to the trillions of dollars workers have saved for retirement through 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans. This rule gives them a pathway in. If it goes through, millions of people could unknowingly finance the same firms that cut their jobs, raise their rents, bankrupt their hospitals, and destabilize their communities. Private equity profits depend on fees and extraction, not long-term stability. Crypto markets remain deeply volatile and are prone to manipulation, and those saving for retirement will absorb the losses when things go wrong. Americans for Financial Reform is fighting back. We are exposing what this rule actually does, organizing public opposition, and making sure regulators hear from real people, not just Wall Street lobbyists. But we need your voice in this process. Submit your comment today and demand that the Department of Labor reject this dangerous rule before it puts workers’ retirement savings at risk. Thank you for speaking out to protect retirement security and hold Wall Street accountable. -Oscar. Oscar Valdés Viera (he/him) Research Manager Americans for Financial Reform. Support the campaign

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