On April 30, 2026, President Trump issued the Executive Order Promoting Retirement-Savings Access for American Workers by Establishing TrumpIRA.gov (the “Executive Order”), which advances the President’s State of the Union pledge to extend retirement savings opportunities to workers who lack access to employer-provided retirement plans. The Executive Order directs the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), in coordination with the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), to create a federally-administered online marketplace for IRAs to compare IRA savings options and provide educational information about the Saver’s Match, a federal “matching” contribution available to certain lower-income individuals beginning next year. Notably, the marketplace is designed to supplement, not supplant, the existing employer-provided system.
Background: Workplace Coverage Shortfalls and Prior Marketplace Efforts
In his February 24, 2026 State of the Union address, President Trump remarked on the tens of millions of Americans who lack access to employer-sponsored retirement plans – predominantly part-time workers, independent contractors, small business employees, and the self-employed – and stated that these “oft-forgotten” workers should be given access to retirement plans similar to those offered to federal employees, along with a federal matching contribution of up to $1,000. To achieve the $1,000 federal match, the Executive Order leverages an existing statutory tool: the Saver’s Match program enacted in SECURE 2.0 (Code section 6433), which takes effect on January 1, 2027. The Saver’s Match gives a 50% federal matching contribution (up to $1,000 per year) on retirement contributions for single filers earning up to $20,500, phasing out gradually to zero at $35,500. For joint filers, the full match (up to $2,000 combined) applies through $41,000 of income and fully phases out at $71,000.
The Executive Order builds on over two decades of policy work to increase retirement plan coverage and savings. For example, Washington State launched a marketplace-style program in 2018, the Retirement Marketplace, and New Mexico and Utah are also working on their own marketplace-style programs.
In addition, the Obama Administration created the myRA program to address many of the same policy issues. The myRA was a low-cost IRA that emphasized safety and liquidity by investing in a government-issued “retirement bond.” The Trump Administration wound down the myRA program in 2017 citing lack of demand and cost.
Overview of the Executive Order
The Executive Order declares that it is the policy of the United States to promote high-quality, low-cost IRAs offered by private-sector financial institutions that meet objective standards of cost, transparency, and fiduciary responsibility, to increase public awareness of the Saver’s Match, and to facilitate participation in eligible retirement-savings vehicles that provide diversified, index-based investment options. To implement this policy, the Executive Order directs the following:
- Establishment of TrumpIRA.gov: By January 1, 2027, the Treasury must launch TrumpIRA.gov, a federally administered website that lists financial institutions offering qualifying IRAs, allows individuals to filter and select IRAs based on cost and quality, and provides information regarding eligibility for the Saver’s Match.
- Cost and Quality Criteria: To be listed on TrumpIRA.gov, a financial institution’s IRA must (i) offer a menu of investment options that meet stated criteria that mirror the Thrift Savings Plan options available to federal workers described in 29 C.F.R. § 2550.404c-5, including life-cycle or target-retirement-date funds, balanced funds, or principal-protection funds; (ii) maintain low administrative costs with overall net-expense ratios capped at 0.15 percent; and (iii) impose no minimum-contribution or balance requirements.
- Saver’s Match Implementation: Treasury must take all necessary steps to ensure that eligible workers who contribute to qualifying IRAs, including those listed on TrumpIRA.gov, receive the Saver’s Match contribution. Treasury must also work with financial institutions to ensure that they can accept and process the government’s matching contributions.
- Charitable Contributions to IRAs: Treasury and IRS must provide guidance with respect to the tax treatment of contributions made by tax-exempt organizations to IRAs maintained by workers who are members of a charitable class entitled to receive the contribution, without jeopardizing the organization’s tax-exempt status under Code section 501(c)(3).
- Worker Protections: Treasury and DOL must issue regulations, exemptions, or guidance to ensure that IRAs maintained by financial institutions, including those listed on TrumpIRA.gov, protect workers, maintain transparency, and prevent prohibited transactions within the meaning of Code section 4975.
- Legislative Recommendations: Treasury, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, must prepare legislative recommendations to codify the Executive Order’s policy to ensure that workers lacking access to employer-provided retirement plans have access to low-fee, portable IRAs with Saver’s Match eligibility, diversified index-based investment options, automatic portfolio choices, and portability.
Implications for the Retirement System
The Executive Order is designed to make it easier for people without an employer-provided retirement plan to find, compare, and fund an IRA and ensure that they can take advantage of the Saver’s Match program when it takes effect on January 1, 2027. Treasury, IRS, and DOL are likely to provide a meaningful body of guidance and rulemaking to implement the Executive Order over the next several months.
Several aspects of the Executive Order warrant particular attention from retirement-industry stakeholders. The cost and quality criteria specified in the order will narrow the IRAs eligible for being listed through the marketplace and may incentivize the development of new, low-cost, index-based products tailored to the new platform. Additionally, the implementation timelines set forth in the Executive Order are tight. With the Saver’s Match set to take effect on January 1, 2027, IRA custodians and recordkeepers will have a limited window to build the operational framework necessary to implement the federal matching contributions efficiently and accurately.
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