- Republican lawmakers drafted a bill that would allow investment managers to offer bitcoin in 401(k) plans.
- The bill seeks to remove liability for a breach of fiduciary duty for providing access to bitcoins and cryptocurrencies.
- The bill is likely to be introduced after the November 2022 midterm elections.
Three Republican members of Congress introduced a bill, called the Retirement Savings Modernization Act, designed to allow investment managers to offer bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in their 401(k) plans, according to a filing by the congress
The proposed bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to add classifications to the types of assets that fiduciaries can offer.
“A fiduciary shall not be liable for breach of fiduciary duties under this section solely for recommending, selecting or supervising any covered investment as an investment option for a plan,” the bill says.
The document goes on to define a “covered investment” and lists “digital assets” along with the other standard assets that can be managed within a standard 401(k) savings plan.
Cosponsors of the congressional bill include: Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) of the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.)
“Our legislation will give the millions of American savers who invest in defined contribution plans the option to enhance their retirement savings by accessing the same broad range of alternative assets currently available to savers with defined benefit pension plans,” Toomey said, according to a report. .
As midterm elections approach in November, we’re heading into a “lame duck session,” which typically sees lawmakers deadlocked on voter movement issues as political incumbents who are ousted from the in their charge they study the legislation before their successors take the reigns.
Additionally, another report suggests Tommey plans to introduce the bill as a year-end tax package aimed at boosting overall retirement savings, as the bill doesn’t just apply to digital assets.
Fidelity Investments launched the first bitcoin 401(k) earlier this year, with Bitcoin Bull MicroStrategy being the first company to commit to using the product.
