Last week, President Trump signed an Executive Order to expand access to retirement savings plans by creating TrumpIRA.gov, a new federal platform to help workers without employer-sponsored retirement plans connect Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) offered by private financial institutions. Set to launch by January 1, 2027, the platform will allow users to compare IRA options by cost, quality, and investment choices, while also increasing awareness and use of the Federal Saver’s Match, which provides up to $1,000 annually in federal matching contributions to eligible low‑ and middle‑income workers.
The Order directs the Treasury Department and IRS to ensure eligible workers receive the Saver’s Match, clarify the tax treatment of charitable contributions to IRAs on behalf of workers, and develop legislative recommendations to permanently codify the TrumpIRA framework. The initiative targets workers most likely to lack retirement coverage—such as independent contractors, part‑time workers, small business employees, and the self‑employed—and seeks to close a major retirement savings gap affecting roughly 41 million workers. The administration frames the action as part of a broader effort to build wealth, increase take‑home pay, reduce regulatory burdens, and expand access to portable, low‑cost retirement savings vehicles for all Americans.
Argentum’s annual report, The Value of Assisted Living, identified the critical shortage in retirement savings as Americans increasingly need access to long-term care. The report found that the median retirement savings for workers aged 55–64 is just $125,000, with large portions of baby boomers and Gen X lacking any retirement accounts at all. The national retirement savings gap is projected to grow from $28 trillion in 2015 to $137 trillion by 2050. As a result, only 17% of people over 50 believe they can maintain a comfortable retirement and just 14% feel certain they can afford long-term care.
Argentum has been working to advance tax policies to support savings and use of existing tax-favored accounts, including Health Savings Accounts, Flexible Spending Accounts, 529 education savings accounts and individual retirement accounts, to offset the cost of long-term care. The Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act (S. 1565 & H.R. 138) would help more Americans access care by allowing tax-advantaged health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts to be used for eligible long-term care expenses for a family member’s care. Additionally, the SECURE 2.0 Act, signed into law in 2022, allows 529 funds to be converted from educational savings into retirement savings tax-free, and we are working to expand eligible uses to include long-term care.