The Trump administration is set to pave the way for more employers to give workers the option to incorporate private investments into their retirement portfolios.

A forthcoming executive order will instruct the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission to develop guidance for employers and retirement plan administrators on how to include these types of assets in 401(k) plans, the Wall Street Journal reported on July 15.

Such a move would be part of a broader push by the administration to encourage the presence of non-traditional investments, such as cryptocurrencies, in retirement plans.

While defined benefit plans such as pensions have been investing in private equity for years, these types of investments are much less common in the defined contribution space, said Lisa Loesel, a partner in the employee benefits practice group with law firm Seyfarth. As of last year, just 2.2% of plan sponsors offered any alternative investments in their 401(k) plans, according to a benchmarking report from the trade journal PLANSPONSOR.

For more on how the administration’s move could affect benefits leaders, keep reading here.—CV

The global mental health crisis keeps growing, with more than 720,000 suicide deaths per year. Now, one country believes it’'s up to each public servant to keep an eye out for mental distress warning signs.

Where in the world? Legislators in Northern Ireland recently introduced the Suicide Prevention Training Bill, which would provide suicide prevention training to all public workers, the Irish News reported.

Northern Ireland, since its latest 2021 census, has a population of roughly 1.9 million, but 70% don’t receive mental health services. In 2023 alone, 221 people died by suicide. Supporters of the bill believe that the government should do more to prevent suicide and that it starts with government workers.

For more on this attempt to tackle a growing mental health crisis, keep reading here.—KP

Political divides? Tired. Employee/employer divides? Wired.

A new survey from Axios HQ, a non-journalistic offshoot of the publication that sells “AI-powered software” to companies for internal communications, found that alignment on goals between employees and company leaders fell by roughly half compared to last year.

In the 2025 report, 27% of leaders said their employees were “entirely aligned with org goals.” Only 9% of employees agreed. Ouch. Last year those numbers were 44% and 14%, respectively. Double ouch. The survey polled more than 450 US business leaders and 800 white collar workers in January.

For more on the communication split between executives and employees, keep reading on CFO Brew.—JK