18. Department of Labor and Related Agencies · Minor
Prohibit non-pecuniary factors in ERISA plan investing
Printed page 607 18. Department of Labor and Related Agencies
“DOL should prohibit investing in ERISA plans on the basis of any factors that are unrelated to investor risks and returns.”
What has happened
- Attempted
The Department of Labor's regulatory agenda carries RIN 1210-AC37, an economically significant rulemaking that would revise 29 CFR 2550.404a-1 so that fiduciaries select investments "based only on financial considerations relevant to the risk-adjusted economic value of a particular investment, and not to advance social causes" — the prohibition the Quote asks for. No proposed rule has published; the 2022 rule, which permits non-pecuniary tiebreakers and collateral benefits, remains the operative regulation.
- Attempted
The House passed H.R. 2988, the Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act, 213-205, which would amend ERISA section 404 to specify the treatment of pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors in plan investment decisions. The Senate referred it to the HELP Committee on 2026-01-26 and has not acted.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
- Leveled identically with #1670 and #1672, the other two statements of this ask on pages 606-607, so that ticket 26 can merge them under §3b’s “one ask, one Recommendation” rule without any Status having to move. The reason they are not merged here is set out on #1670.
- The Quote is addressed to DOL alone, so the House passage is recorded because §3 counts a step by a chamber of Congress, not because Congress is the addressee.
- The 2025-07-01 direct final rule removing obsolete ERISA interpretive bulletins was checked and is not this: the bulletins removed are 29 CFR 2509.75-2, 75-5, 75-6, 75-10 and 95-1, none of which concerns investment factors.
- Action
- restrict
- Object
- ERISA plan investment factors
- ID
- 1671