Publication Date
2023
Document Type
Article
Organizational Units
Sturm College of Law
Keywords
Cryptocurrency, Regulation, Fiduciary duty, Super bowl, Advertising, Defined contributions, Retirement savings, 401(k)
Abstract
Regulating cryptocurrency’s place in America’s most popular retirement savings vehicle generates thorny legal, ethical, and social justice dilemmas. Too little regulation could hurt those at highest risk of underfunded retirement. Too much could exacerbate existing racial, ethnic, and gender inequities.
Though recent regulatory efforts suggest 401(k) administrators violate their fiduciary duty of care by offering cryptocurrency investment options to plan participants, the established fiduciary regime protects 401(k) plan participants from cryptocurrency risk while respecting their savings preferences. Yet, the current framework falls short of ethically and equitably serving all plan participants, particularly members of underserved communities — a problem largely unaddressed in academic, industry, or regulatory discourse.
This Article demonstrates how regulators’ needlessly paternalistic approach toward cryptocurrency options could disproportionately impact minority retirement savings participation. Applying the existing fiduciary framework and practical mechanisms that plan fiduciaries currently use would minimize cryptocurrency risk to participants without rewriting the rules governing plan administration. This Article also proposes a novel, scientifically supported method by which fiduciaries should convey retirement planning information to improve retirement outcomes for all: via non-traditional media.
Copyright Date
2023
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
File Format
application/pdf
Publication Title
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Volume
57
First Page
109
Recommended Citation
Lauren K. Valastro, Did the Superbowl Ad Curse Heighten Defined Contribution Plan Fiduciary Duties?: Deciphering the Legal and Ethical Landscape of Cryptocurrency Options in 401(k)s, 57 U. MICH. J. L. REFORM 109 (2023).