Trump order aims to help more people get retirement savings plans in time for new federal match

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday calling for a new government website where people in the United States can find and compare private-sector retirement savings accounts, aiming to help millions of workers whose employers do not offer such plans.

The order is intended to help more people gain access to retirement plans before next year, when the federal government will start matching retirement contributions made by low- and middle-income workers, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the order before it is formally announced.

That new matching contribution, known as the Saver’s Match, comes from 2022 legislation passed under Democratic President Joe Biden. Starting in January, it will offer a match of up to $1,000 for workers who make less than $35,000 a year.

Trump’s order is meant to help make the match available to roughly 50 million people who do not have retirement plans offered by their employers. The Republican president is directing the Treasury Department to launch TrumpIRA.gov, where workers can compare private-sector retirement plans.

He is not offering a new government retirement plan but helping match workers with existing plans from private companies.

Details of the order were first reported by the news outlet Semafor.

Trump discussed the idea during his State of the Union address in February, when he noted that about half of the people in the country do not have access to employer-provided retirement plans with matching contributions.

“To remedy this gross disparity, I’m announcing that next year my administration will give these often-forgotten American workers — great people, the people that built our country — access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker,” Trump said.

The Saver’s Match program will offer a maximum match of $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married couples who file jointly. It will offer smaller matches for single filers making less than $46,000 a year. It applies to contributions made toward 401(k) plans, IRAs and Roth IRAs.