President Donald Trump’s Executive Order signed Thursday in the Oval Office, “Promoting Retirement-Savings Access for American Workers by Establishing TrumpIRA.gov,” marks a significant new milestone in the ongoing fight to close the retirement savings coverage gap.
“This afternoon I’m thrilled to sign a historic executive order expanding access to high-quality retirement savings accounts for millions of Americans,” Trump said during the signing ceremony Thursday. “In my State of the Union earlier this year I promised to make these same types of retirement accounts enjoyed by the federal employees available to all Americans, so that’s what we’re doing—it only seemed fair. It’s really a tremendous situation for all Americans.”
“This afternoon I’m thrilled to sign a historic executive order expanding access to high-quality retirement savings accounts for millions of Americans.”
President Donald Trump
The President went on to tout record stock market highs and the positive effect it has had on 401(k) balances.
“Under four years of Biden the average 401(k) rose at a rate of just $875 a year. Last year under Trump, the average 401(k) balance was up $24,000, so $875 versus $24,000—I would say that’s pretty good. This is really incredible—the numbers are incredible,” Trump said Thursday.
The goal with the new IRA program combined with the Saver’s Match is to help more Americans who lack access to retirement savings plans at work start saving and be able to benefit from investing. A Fact Sheet released by the White House yesterday about the executive order said President Trump wants to give American workers—particularly independent contractors, part-time workers, small business employees, and self-employed individuals—more investment options in order to attain stronger and more financially secure retirement outcomes. “President Trump wants all workers to share in economic growth and the power of compounding,” the Fact Sheet states.
“Beginning at the start of next year, every American will be able to go to trumpira.gov and open a new low-cost IRA account,” Trump continued during his Oval Office remarks while signing the EO. “You’ll then be able to access the same type of retirement accounts that federal employees enjoy through the Thrift Savings Plan.”
As part of the federal Saver’s Match program that begins in January 2027, low-income Americans will be eligible to receive up to $1,000 per year in matching funds deposited directly into their accounts. “Great thing for millions of Americans who lack employer-sponsored plans,” Trump said. “This will be really revolutionary because they’ll be covered. Nobody thought that was possible.”
He added that for example, if a 25-year-old who is eligible for the Saver’s Match program invests $165 a month under the matching federal contributions, they will have an estimated $465,000 in their account by the time they’re 65. “In other words, they’ll be rich and there’s something awfully nice about that,” Trump said.
The Fact Sheet said the example is based on a 6% rate of return, with nearly $155,000 of the $465,000 attributable to the Saver’s Match.
What the EO does
The EO directs the Treasury Department to launch the new website—TrumpIRA.gov—by January 1, 2027, timed to coincide with the launch of the Saver’s Match, which was created by a provision in SECURE 2.0.
The new Saver’s Match directs the federal government to match up to 50% of retirement contributions on a maximum of $2,000 per year, for single workers earning under $35,000, meaning a qualifying worker contributing $2,000 to a retirement account will collect $1,000 from Uncle Sam, providing a 50% return without even factoring in potential stock market gains.
The new federal platform TrumpIRA.gov will be designed to connect American workers who do not have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans with high-quality, low-cost IRAs offered by private-sector financial institutions. The site will allow workers to filter and compare IRAs based on cost, quality, and investment options.
Targeting those lacking access
The Fact Sheet said roughly 41 million American workers between ages 18 and 65 lack access to any employer-provided retirement plan, and 49 million full-time workers and 14 million part-time workers do not receive an employer match to their retirement savings contributions.
“Most high-income people have an employer that gives them a 401(k) with a match, but low-income people or Uber drivers or something, they don’t have access to that—they don’t have access to the match,” Trump said Thursday. “What we’ve done here is you’ve given the match to low-income people with incomes below $35,000, but we think that there are a lot of people even who make more than that that don’t have any assets for retirement, and so we’re working with Congress to significantly expand this program and looking forward to legislation this year to expand this.”
The Fact Sheet notes that the executive order directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare legislative recommendations to codify and build upon the TrumpIRA.gov framework, establishing a permanent path for all Americans to access high-quality, low-cost IRAs and a Federal matching program.
It also directs the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service to issue guidance clarifying the tax treatment of contributions made by philanthropic and charitable tax-exempt organizations to IRAs on behalf of eligible workers.
By welcoming philanthropists and nonprofits as charitable partners in the retirement savings mission through clear Treasury guidance on philanthropic giving, the Fact Sheet said “President Trump is unlocking potential for a powerful new source of retirement savings and support.”
• READ THE EXECUTIVE ORDER HERE
• READ THE FACT SHEET HERE
SEE ALSO:
• Trump Signing Executive Order Creating ‘TrumpIRA.gov’
• Trump Floats New Retirement Plan for Workers Without 401(k)s During State of the Union
• 22 Million Could Be Eligible for 2027 Saver’s Match