Financial Freedom Act of 2025

This bill, called the Financial Freedom Act of 2025, aims to protect choice in certain retirement plans. It stops the Department of Labor from limiting the kinds of investments that can be offered when you control your own account, like a 401(k) with a self-directed brokerage window. It changes federal retirement rules to make clear that plan managers don’t have to pick or avoid any specific type of investment, as long as they offer a broad range and focus on risk and return for the plan’s goals.

If a plan includes a self-directed brokerage window, the Department of Labor may not issue rules that restrict what can be offered there. Simply offering a brokerage window, or a person’s choices within it, doesn’t by itself break the usual prudence or diversification rules for the plan.

• Who is affected: People in retirement plans with individual accounts that let them choose their investments, such as 401(k)s with a brokerage window.
• What changes: The Labor Department cannot limit the range or type of investments offered; plan managers can include many kinds of options and are guided by risk and return. Brokerage windows cannot be narrowed by new agency rules, and choosing to offer one is not a violation on its own.
• Timing: Not specified in the text provided.