President Trump Issues Executive Order to Expand Retirement Savings

May 2026

On April 30, 2026, as a follow-up to remarks from the State of the Union address earlier in the year, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) designed to expand retirement plan access and close the nation’s retirement savings coverage gap.* More specifically, it directs the Treasury Department to develop a federal Individual Retirement Account (IRA) savings program to reach uncovered workers, including contract workers, part-time workers, small-business employees, and the self-employed, many of whom lack access to a retirement savings program at work.

Here’s What You Really Need to Know:
  • The EO directs the Treasury Department to create a new website, TrumpIRA.gov, through which eligible individuals may find vetted IRA alternatives and information about how to claim the Saver’s Match.
  • The initiative would synchronize with the expanded Saver’s Match included in the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). That program would provide a matching government contribution of as much as $1,000 a year for individuals with incomes below $35,500, either into an existing retirement plan account or an IRA.
  • As with many of the provisions in SECURE 2.0, employers are not required to accept Saver’s Match contributions, though many are expected to, particularly larger programs.
Let’s Dive In…

While the nation’s workforce has expanded dramatically over the past several decades, only about half of full-time workers have access to a retirement plan at work. Described as the coverage gap, this lack of access is a continued concern for both state and federal legislators. Access to a retirement plan at work is critical, as studies have found that even lower-income workers are up to 15 times more likely to save for retirement when they have access to a retirement plan at work, benefiting from mechanisms such as payroll deduction and automatic enrollment.**

Numerous provisions in SECURE 2.0 were designed to help close the coverage gap, including pooled employer plans (PEPs), significant expansions in tax credits available to employers who chose to offer a plan, automatic enrollment requirements for new plan adoption for certain sizes and tenured employers, and the Saver’s Match expansion noted above to provide additional economic incentives for lower-income workers to participate.

Additionally, state-run retirement programs have launched in more than a dozen states that provide an option for workers who lack access to retirement plans at work, generally accompanied by a state mandate requiring employers to provide payroll deduction. These programs have helped close the coverage gap, either directly or via employers subject to those mandates choosing to offer a regular retirement savings program instead.

The Saver’s Match

The Saver’s Match is one of the more consequential — if still underappreciated — changes in SECURE 2.0. It replaces the current Saver’s Credit with something far more tangible: instead of a nonrefundable tax credit like the Saver’s Credit that may or may not reduce what a filer owes, the federal government will make a direct contribution into an eligible retirement account. In other words, it transforms a largely invisible tax benefit into something that looks and feels much more like an employer match.

Eligibility is aimed squarely at lower- and moderate-income workers. To qualify, an individual must be at least 18, cannot be claimed as a dependent, and cannot be a full-time student. The key gating factor, however, is income. The match is available in full for those below certain modified adjusted gross income thresholds, which are roughly $20,500 for single filers, $30,750 for heads of household, and $41,000 for married couples filing jointly; it phases out until it disappears entirely at approximately $35,500, $53,250, and $71,000, respectively.

Those thresholds will be indexed over time, but the structure remains the same: full benefit at lower incomes, partial benefit across the middle, and no benefit above the upper bound. In terms of the amount, the government will match 50 percent of an individual’s contributions, up to the first $2,000 contributed in a year. That produces a maximum match of $1,000 per person, or $2,000 for a married couple if both are eligible and contributing.*** The Saver’s Match is effective January 1, 2027.

While most plans are expected to accommodate these contributions, not every employer-sponsored plan is required to accept them. There are potential timing issues, as well as the physical receipt of these contributions.

TrumpIRA Options

Under the terms of the EO, the Treasury Department must launch TrumpIRA.gov by January 1, 2027, which will be a website listing vetted private-sector IRAs and explaining how to claim the Saver’s Match. To be highlighted as a provider, institutions must offer retirement funds similar in type to what federal workers can access with low costs and no minimum contribution or minimum balance requirements.

*Donald J. Trump, “Promoting Retirement-Savings Access for American Workers by Establishing TrumpIRA.gov,” Executive Order, April 30, 2026, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/promotingretirement-savings-access-for-american-workers-by-establishing-trumpira-gov/.

**John Scott, “Workers Without Access to Retirement Benefits Struggle to Build Wealth,” issue brief, The Pew Charitable Trusts, June 25, 2025, https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2025/06/workerswithout-access-to-retirement-benefits-struggle-to-build-wealth.

***Note, however, that certain types of distributions can reduce or offset the match, which is intended to prevent individuals from gaming the system by contributing and then quickly withdrawing funds.

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