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A National Institute on Retirement Security survey found that 77% of Americans view cryptocurrency in workplace retirement plans as risky, with 46% calling it very risky, while 53% oppose employers offering crypto as an investment option. The poll of 1,203 adults, conducted by Greenwald Research in late 2025, also revealed deepening retirement anxiety, with 80% saying the US faces a retirement crisis, up from 67% in 2020. The public skepticism contrasts sharply with federal policy direction. The Labor Department withdrew crypto guidance in May 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in August 2025 expanding alternative asset access in 401(k)s, and a March 2026 proposed rule would create safe harbors for fiduciaries evaluating such investments. Democratic lawmakers including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Bobby Scott have urged withdrawal of the proposal, citing volatility and insufficient safeguards.
Key Elements
A new national survey reveals that most Americans are deeply skeptical about cryptocurrency in workplace retirement plans, even as Washington pushes to make alternative assets more accessible in 401(k)s.
The National Institute on Retirement Security found that 77% of respondents view crypto in retirement plans as risky, with 46% calling it “very risky.” More than half—53%—oppose employers offering digital assets as an investment option altogether.
The findings, released Tuesday, paint a picture of a public already anxious about retirement security. Eight in ten Americans now believe the country faces a retirement crisis, up from 67% in 2020, while 61% said they are worried about achieving financial security in their later years.
Financial strain appears to compound the concern. According to the survey, 68% of respondents said preparing for retirement has become harder, and 77% reported that debt prevents them from saving enough money.
Greenwald Research conducted the poll between Oct. 24 and Nov. 14, 2025, surveying 1,203 Americans aged 25 and older. Results were weighted by age, gender, and income to reflect the national adult population.
Policy Shift Runs Counter to Public Sentiment
The survey’s cautious tone stands in sharp contrast to the direction of federal policy. In May 2025, the Department of Labor withdrew guidance that had instructed retirement-plan fiduciaries to exercise “extreme care” before adding cryptocurrency to investment menus. The department said the earlier standard departed from its usual neutral approach to investment types.
President Donald Trump accelerated the shift on Aug. 7, 2025, signing an executive order aimed at expanding access to alternative assets in defined-contribution plans. The order covered digital-asset investment vehicles as well as private equity, private credit, and real estate, directing the Labor Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine regulatory changes that could make these options available to retirement savers.
Five days later, the Labor Department rescinded a 2021 statement that had discouraged fiduciaries from considering private equity and certain other alternative investments. Officials said that guidance had also departed from a neutral, principles-based approach.
In March 2026, the department proposed a new rule outlining how fiduciaries could evaluate alternative assets for workplace retirement plans. The framework included regulatory safe harbors designed to reduce litigation exposure for fiduciaries that follow specified review standards, and would require examination of performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, redemption terms, and whether participants can understand an investment.
The proposal would not mandate that employers add crypto or private funds to their menus. Those choosing to include such products would need to document an objective review showing the options meet the prudence requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Lawmakers Push Back
Political opposition has followed the regulatory proposals. In June, three Democratic lawmakers—Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, along with Rep. Bobby Scott—urged the Labor Department to withdraw the March framework. They argued that cryptocurrency could expose workers to price volatility, fraud, and weaker safeguards than those available for public securities.
“The application of securities laws to crypto assets is rapidly evolving,” the lawmakers wrote, adding that some protections available to investors in public securities “may not be available for crypto.”
Their objections extended to private equity and private credit, which they said could carry high fees, limited liquidity, and difficult valuation methods. The Labor Department’s proposal remains subject to the federal rulemaking process, under which the agency could revise, finalize, or withdraw the framework after reviewing public comments.
Retirement System Under Strain
The crypto debate unfolds against a backdrop of broader retirement insecurity. The institute’s separate research, based on US Census Bureau data and published in February 2026, found that the median retirement savings balance across the American workforce was below $1,000, and that many employees lacked access to an employer-provided plan.
Social Security supplied about 52% of retirement income for older Americans, according to the same analysis, while approximately 17% of workers had access to a defined-benefit pension as of December 2022. Unlike a traditional pension that promises a defined payment, a 401(k) generally places investment decisions and market risk on the employee.
The US Government Accountability Office has previously described digital assets as having unique volatility and said reliable methods for projecting their future returns remain limited, according to a congressional letter citing the agency’s research.
Crypto adoption has grown even as retirement-plan skepticism persists. A May Federal Reserve survey found that 10% of US adults used or held cryptocurrency in 2025, up from 7% in 2024. Roughly 7% held crypto as an investment, while fewer respondents used it for payments or transfers.
The gap between public wariness and policy ambition is likely to remain a defining feature of the retirement crypto debate. Plan sponsors may treat the regulatory landscape as unsettled until final rules clarify what constitutes compliance, particularly given the prospect of political scrutiny and potential litigation risk.
For now, employers and recordkeepers face a delicate balancing act: expanding plan menus to include alternative assets while navigating fiduciary duties, participant understanding, and a workforce that remains broadly unconvinced that crypto belongs in retirement accounts.
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Source: finance.biggo.com