Katherine Sullivan

After the break, we look at new uncertainties coming for the future of our retirement system.

There's a discussion going on now about what kinds of investments can go into a 401 .

Last August, President Trump signed an executive order allowing 401 s to invest in, quote, alternative assets.

That's things like private equity, real estate debt and cryptocurrency.

According to a poll conducted on behalf of The Wall Street Journal, only about 10 percent of Americans are looking for more investment offerings in their 401 s. Anne Targeson wrote about this.

Can you explain that to me?

The White House told me the order levels the playing field for individual investors who want access to potentially lucrative private and alternative investments and is, quote, not an endorsement of any particular asset class.

A lot of the lobbying for this is coming from the private equity industry.

Private equity is looking for access to the roughly $10 trillion currently invested in 401 plans.

It would be a lot more business for the sector.

But it's unclear whether 401 administrators will be willing to offer these alternative assets.

Private equity funds generally come with much higher fees than publicly traded assets.

Private markets also carry more risk for investors.

Some experts think placing these assets in 401ks is too risky.

Former Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein told the Wall Street Journal about what he sees as a short-sighted decision by the private equity industry.

There's another potential problem coming in the future, but this one has to do with Social Security.

The program is extremely popular.

Around 40 percent of seniors rely on Social Security payments to make up at least half of their monthly income.

Between 12 and 15 percent rely on it for over 90 percent of their income.

But a lot of Americans believe it will run out completely in their lifetimes.