Tomorrow is National 401(k) Day, and this year, Americans can celebrate 401(k) reforms that remove regulatory barriers, helping Americans build wealth for their later years.
Since 1978, 401(k)s have provided employees with tax-advantaged accounts supported by their employer, helping workers prepare for their retirements. 401(k)s have since become one of the most popular ways to save for retirement and, under current rules, allow investments in companies listed on the stock exchange.
More than 90 million Americans participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, including 401(k)s. This is about half of all working Americans. These Americans deserve access to the same financial tools as retirement investors using public pension systems or institutional investment strategies.
In 2025, the Trump administration issued Executive Order 14330, “Democratizing Access To Alternative Assets For 401(k) Investors.” In it, the president directed that every American preparing for retirement should have access to alternative assets, including private market investments, real estate, and commodities.
For public pension funds, private equity provides reliable and substantial returns. Private equity refers to non-public business investments. According to a 2025 study, 89% of public pension funds invest some portion of their funds in private equity, and 94% of institutional investors either wanted to increase or maintain their current private equity allocation. Data show that private equity consistently outperforms public markets: Over 5-year, 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year time frames, private equity returns between 3.0% and 8.4% more than public equity. Institutional investors enjoy their access to private market investments and view them as a mainstay of their funds.
401(k) investors, prior to the proposed reforms of the Trump administration, were denied access to private equity in most cases. More than 80% of firms with revenues over $100 million are private, yet 401(k) participants could not take advantage of investments in this large majority of companies. The primary reason argued was investor safety, as private investments are said to offer little investor protection and to lack transparency.
In fact, private investments are overseen by a strong regulatory framework. They have detailed disclosure requirements, including quarterly performance reports, mandatory yearly audits, and scrutiny of advisor conflicts, that protect investors and maintain transparency.
Independent Women submitted comments in support of the Department of Labor’s proposed rule implementing Trump’s executive order, and the DOL is currently working toward the final rule after the public comment period concluded in June.
On this year’s 401(k) Day, Americans can look forward to reforms that broaden their investment options. Private equity has traditionally been available to wealthy and institutional investors. The Trump administration’s proposed 401(k) reforms can democratize private equity so that more private-sector employees can access these high-returning investments. Most importantly, 401(k) investors would be in a stronger position to build wealth and live without financial stress in their retirements.