Trump's New Retirement Plan Could Offer Up To $1,000 A Year To Millions of Americans — Who Qualifies

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday to offer workers without access to 401(k)s a new way to enroll and save via private-sector individual retirement accounts (IRAs)

Why does this matter? Pew Charitable Trusts' 2025 research showed that around 56 million Americans don't have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Trump directed the launch of the TrumpIRA.gov website in 2027 for workers to find and compare IRA accounts before enrolling. Eligible workers could even receive up to $1,000 in federal matching contributions annually, just like federal employees benefit from the Thrift Savings Plans, under the Saver's Match programme. These contributions are essentially free money that works to compound your investments over decades.

'You'll then be able to access the same type of retirement accounts that federal employees enjoy through the Thrift Savings Plan... Low-income Americans will be eligible to receive up to $1,000 per year in matching funds deposited directly into their accounts,' Trump said at a White House press conference this week.

Who Is Eligible For Saver's Match

Trump's plans to expand access to retirement accounts for workers involve integration with the Saver's Match, which is a provision from 2022 legislation, Secure 2.0, which will take effect in 2027 tax year.

The new rules state that single taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income of up to $20,500 or joint filers with earnings up to $41,000 qualify for a government matching contribution for 50% of up to a $2,000 contribution to a qualified retirement account. The maximum matching contribution is $1,000 a year. Note that single filers with yearly earnings of between $20,500 and $35,500 also qualify for reduced matching contributions.

Morningstar forecast in 2025 that US workers eligible for the federal match would see a 12% boost to their overall retirement wealth. However, 26 million workers who qualify for the Saver's Match don't have access to a retirement account plan to collect the benefit, according to the Economic Innovation Group.

Although the proposed match applies to US individuals with annual incomes under $35,000, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett recently said during a conference that the Trump administration is working on laws to expand the plan to even more US workers.

'Establishing a universal retirement system to companion with Social Security was always needed, and its time has come,' The New School professor Teresa Ghilarducci recently told a media outlet.

Meanwhile, Bipartisan Policy Center's Shai Akabas believes that the Saver's Match is the right way to get more low- to moderate-income people without 401(k) access to save money because the new rules are likely to offer people more information and easier ways to create a retirement account.

'We know that the significant majority of people are unlikely to take these proactive steps on their own. That's why the call for legislative action is also really critical as part of the conversation here,' Akabas told CNBC.

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