U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 30, 2026, to expand access to retirement accounts for workers who don’t have access to a 401(k) or another workplace plan. The order aims to create a new way for these workers to save for retirement, with the goal of improving their financial security in the long term.<\/p>\n
According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, an independent public policy nonprofit, roughly 56 million Americans lack access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan at work, highlighting the need for alternative solutions. The executive order instructs the launch of a new website, TrumpIRA.gov, next year, where workers can research, compare, and enroll in private-sector IRA accounts, potentially collecting a matching contribution from the federal government.<\/p>\n
The program will be integrated with the Saver’s Match, a provision from 2022 legislation known as Secure 2.0, which goes into effect in tax year 2027. Under the Saver’s Match rules, single taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income of up to $20,500 or joint filers making up to $41,000 qualify for a government match worth 50% of up to a $2,000 contribution to a qualified retirement account, for a maximum match of $1,000 a year. Single filers with annual incomes of between $20,500 and $35,500 qualify for reduced matching contributions, and joint filers making up to $71,000 can qualify for a reduced match.<\/p>\n
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump holds up an executive order during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on April 30, 2026, in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n
Teresa Ghilarducci, a professor at The New School, who co-authored 2021 research with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on providing low-income workers with retirement savings similar to the Thrift Savings Plan, stated, “Establishing a universal retirement system to companion with Social Security was always needed, and its time has come.” Shai Akabas, vice president of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, noted that the Saver’s Match is a step in the right direction to getting more low- to moderate-income people who don’t have access to employer-sponsored plans to save.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The executive order instructs the White House to work with Congress to propose legislation that will make both the coverage and the savings credit larger. Trump said during the signing, “To take it to the next level, we need congressional approval, which should be very easy to get. It should be bipartisan.” The call for Congress to build on the newly announced program is likely to be “really important and well received,” according to Akabas.<\/p>\n
Congress has already put forward proposals to address this issue, including the Retirement Savings for Americans Act and the Automatic IRA Act. Additionally, 17 states have passed legislation to establish automatic enrollment individual retirement accounts, or auto-IRAs, providing access to state-facilitated retirement plans for workers whose employers do not provide their own plans.<\/p>\n