Congressional Democrats have reintroduced bills in the Senate and House \o require spousal consent for 401(k) distributions.
The reason for a change is that since 401(k) plans are quite often a couple’s largest financial asset next to their house, spousal consent is needed to prevent one spouse from taking a 401(k) withdrawal from their account without the other spouse’s knowledge or consent.
I support it, but obviously, spousal consent could be tricky if there is no divorce, but issues regarding domestic violence and no filing of formal separation.