Millions of Americans are struggling to save for retirement, with a significant portion lacking any retirement accounts and many others concerned about future financial instability.
While many Americans dream about the day they can one day retire, many find it nearly impossible to get a plan together to make that happen. About 41 percent of those between the ages of 45 – 54 don’t have a retirement account. Even more sadly, 40 percent of those between the ages of 55 – 65 don’t have a retirement account. Of those who do, about 40 percent are concerned about financial struggles during retirement, or even running out of funds due to not saving enough.
One thing that many may see as being worse than not having a retirement account is being in a situation in which they must live paycheck to paycheck. A 2025 study found that 67 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. That’s an increase from 2024, when 63 percent were in that situation. The most common three issues that Americans said were causing them to struggle financially included persistent inflation (especially groceries), skyrocketing housing costs (including the cost of rent), and an unstable job market, with an unemployment rate that seems to be on the rise.
President Trump is apparently aware of the retirement issue. During his State of the Union address in February, he mentioned that there is a large number of Americans lacking employer retirement plans. He promised that he intended to take steps to provide Americans with a solution. Last week, he provided a bit more detail about what he had in mind with an Executive Order he released regarding some government retirement assistance that he referred to as TrumpIRAs.
The program is designed similarly to the Thrift Savings Plan for federal workers, and would be aimed at assisting, “Workers in small businesses, part-time workers, independent contractors, and self‑employed workers [who] face unnecessary barriers to saving for retirement,” according to the Executive Order.
Eligible workers could receive up to a $1000 dollar match for single filers with an annual income of less than $20,500. Smaller matches would be extended to those who earn up to $35,500. Trump wants to work with Congress to expand a match to those who have an annual income that’s over $35,000.
Those who are married and file jointly could receive up to a $2000 dollar match if they aren’t earning more than $71,000 annually. The maximum match would be 50 percent of what an employee contributes.
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