Biden administration approves rule that funnels workers’ retirement funds into left-wing causes

[HARK!]

The Biden administration has quietly finalized a rule allowing employers to funnel workers’ 401(k) funds into investments that support woke causes that address issues such as climate change and diversity.

The Labor Department approved the rule last week, just two days before the Thanksgiving break. It will affect roughly 150 million workers and $10 trillion in assets covered under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

The rules also remove a restriction blocking employers from using an ESG fund as a default option for workers automatically enrolled in 401(k) plans. That means workers could be supporting causes that don’t align with their political views.

It also rescinds Trump-era regulations that require retirement plan administrators and asset managers to choose investments based solely on participants’ financial interests.

Biden administration approves rule that funnels workers’ retirement funds into left-wing causes

The Biden administration has quietly finalized a rule allowing employers to funnel workers’ 401(k) funds into investments that support woke causes that address issues such as climate change and diversity.

www.washingtontimes.com

 

[essentialsaltes]

In 2020, the Labor Department under the Trump administration issued new regulations intended to restrict ESG offerings in retirement plans.

The Labor Department, which has oversight of retirement plans, said its review concluded that the Trump-era rules unnecessarily restrained plan fiduciaries’ ability to weigh ESG factors when choosing investments, even when those factors would benefit plan participants financially.

Biden is undoing this rule. This action does not funnel anything anywhere. It unties the hands of private companies to make their own decisions.

 

[NxNW]

The article makes claims that are blatantly false. Since when do employers make investing decisions for employees? What does "funnel" even mean in the above context?

Washington Times does not seem to be a trustworthy news source.

 

[grasping the after wind]

The article makes claims that are blatantly false. Since when do employers make investing decisions for employees? What does "funnel" even mean in the above context?

Washington Times does not seem to be a trustworthy news source.

Many if not all employers that have 401K plans make investing decisions for their employees. The plans they offer are limited to investments the employer makes available to the employees under the company's particular plan. When I was an employee there were only a very small number of funds one could invest in along with a few other options like company stock pr bonds. One is not able to invest in whatever one wishes to invest in. One only has the options one 's employer provides.

 

[NxNW]

Many if not all employers that have 401K plans make investing decisions for their employees.

Other than a default fund to start off, this is false.

The plans they offer are limited to investments the employer makes available to the employees under the company's particular plan.

This is not the same as making investment decisions, or "funneling workers' funds into left-wing causes."

When I was an employee there were only a very small number of funds one could invest in along with a few other options like company stock pr bonds. One is not able to invest in whatever one wishes to invest in. One only has the options one 's employer provides.

The plans are required by ERISA to offer a variety of investment options, but not everything under the sun. A limited-but-varied choice of investments is not the same a making investment decisions, or "funneling workers' funds into left-wing causes." In fact, a growing number of investors are requesting access to ESG-based choices.

The headline is false.

 

[grasping the after wind]

Other than a default fund to start off, this is false.

This is not the same as making investment decisions, or "funneling workers' funds into left-wing causes."

The plans are required by ERISA to offer a variety of investment options, but not everything under the sun. A limited-but-varied choice of investments is not the same a making investment decisions, or "funneling workers' funds into left-wing causes." In fact, a growing number of investors are requesting access to ESG-based choices.

The headline is false.

It is not my headline, so I have no need to defend it and I made no claim about funneling worker's funds into left wing causes. . Claiming that employers don't make investment decisions for their employees is false. As I pointed out employers decide what funds the employee has access to invest in under their 401 K plans. That cannot be considered anything but making an investment decision for the employees. the employees were not given fee choice of any investments they prefer only those the employer decides to make available. If you meant that employees have some few options that the employers have decided to allow them and do not have to choose an ESG fund, then that is what you should say rather than saying something that is absolutely incorrect.

 

[NxNW]

As I pointed out employers decide what funds the employee has access to invest in under their 401 K plans. That cannot be considered anything but making an investment decision for the employees.

Determining the selection of investment choices is not making the investing decisions, nor is it funneling workers' funds into left-wing causes.

the employees were not given fee choice of any investments they prefer only those the employer decides to make available. If you meant that employees have some few options that the employers have decided to allow them and do not have to choose an ESG fund, then that is what you should say rather than saying something that is absolutely incorrect.

Determining the selection of investment choices is not making the investing decisions, nor is it funneling workers' funds into left-wing causes.

No 401k offers every fund in the universe. This is not a change from that fact.

 

[essentialsaltes]

In 2020, the Labor Department under the Trump administration issued new regulations intended to restrict ESG offerings in retirement plans.

The Labor Department, which has oversight of retirement plans, said its review concluded that the Trump-era rules unnecessarily restrained plan fiduciaries’ ability to weigh ESG factors when choosing investments, even when those factors would benefit plan participants financially.

Biden is undoing this rule. This action does not funnel anything anywhere. It unties the hands of private companies to make their own decisions.

The GOP Congress (with 2 D senators) has tried to re-institute the Trump rule offering less freedom. It has become Biden's first veto.

Most legislation passed by the current GOP-controlled House will not be able to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate. But the resolution to overturn the investment rule only needed a simple majority to pass in the Senate. Republican lawmakers advanced it under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to roll back regulations from the executive branch without needing to clear the 60-vote threshold in the Senate that is necessary for most legislation.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Joe Biden Gets Unlikely Legal Win From Trump Appointed Texas Judge​

More than two dozen Republican-led states had challenged the Labor Department rule that allows employee retirement plans to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions.

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a conservative appointee of former President Donald Trump to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Amarillo, has previously blocked Biden's bid to end the "remain in Mexico" immigration policy. And in April, Kacsmaryk temporarily halted the use of mifepristone, commonly known as the abortion pill.

[But he said there was nothing improper about this rule.]