Trump signs executive order to expand access to retirement savings

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at expanding access to retirement savings options for workers without employer-sponsored plans. The proposal is intended to help close the so-called retirement coverage gap, which has left more than 50 million mostly low- and moderate-income private-sector workers behind. These are employees who have neither a defined benefit company pension nor a simple, subsidized way to save for retirement at work. While the measure does not establish a new federal retirement system, it connects eligible workers to existing plans offered by private providers.

"I’m thrilled to sign a historic executive order expanding access to high-quality retirement savings accounts for millions of Americans. In my State of the Union earlier this year, I promised to make the same types of retirement accounts enjoyed by federal employees available to all Americans, so that’s what we’re doing," Trump said in the Oval Office before signing the order.

As part of the initiative, the Treasury Department announced it will launch a new platform called TrumpIRA.gov, which will allow individuals to select retirement accounts that fit their needs, detailing that those Americans earning less than $35,500 a year - or couples earning less than $71,000 - will have the opportunity to access the "Saver's Match" through the site.

The executive order specifies that individual retirement account (IRA) providers listed on TrumpIRA.gov must "maintain low administrative costs," where the total annual expense ratio - including operating costs, management fees and administrative expenses - may not exceed 0.15% of the account balance.Companies are also prohibited from imposing minimum contribution or balance requirements.