This week, President Trump signed an executive order directing the launch of TrumpIRA.gov, a portal where workers without employer-sponsored retirement plans could enroll in private-sector IRAs and access federal matching contributions. The order leans on the Saver's Match provision from the 2022 Secure 2.0 Act, which offers up to $1,000 annually for lower-income savers, and calls on Congress to expand both the program's reach and the size of that match.
What the Research Actually Projects
The political drama around the order should not obscure what the underlying numbers suggest. Researchers at Morningstar modeled a scenario combining auto-enrollment at a 3% savings rate with expanded matching contributions drawn from two pending bills — the Retirement Savings for Americans Act and the Automatic IRA Act. Their conclusion: cumulative U.S. retirement wealth could rise by as much as 77%, adding up to $1.35 trillion in projected retirement wealth over 10 years. Morningstar's study estimates 32.3 million new savers would enter the system under the base-case scenario alone. Whether Congress consolidates around one bill or moves provisions through budget reconciliation remains an open question.
A New IRA Enrollment Race for CUs
Credit unions have long served the working- and middle-class members this policy targets. Roughly 56 million Americans currently lack access to an employer-sponsored plan, and roughly 48.8 million receive no employer match at all, according to White House figures cited in the source reporting. If TrumpIRA.gov channels workers toward private-sector IRA providers, the institutions positioned with simple digital enrollment, competitive IRA products, and existing member trust will capture a disproportionate share of new account openings. Credit unions that have not yet built a streamlined IRA onboarding path face a narrowing window to do so before the portal launches in 2027.
What we're watching: Whether Congress passes the Retirement Savings for Americans Act, the Automatic IRA Act, or a reconciliation hybrid — and whether any version mandates employer auto-enrollment thresholds that pull small-business members directly into the IRA market.