Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled Tuesday that lawmakers could use the budget reconciliation process to advance a new retirement proposal introduced by President Trump during his State of the Union address.
Trump announced that his administration plans to offer Americans who do not have a retirement savings plan through their employer, such as a 401(k), access to the same plan offered to federal workers.
“We will match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year, as we ensure that all Americans can profit from a rising stock market,” the president said during his record-long speech.
Bessent was asked by NBC’s Kristen Welker following the address about how Trump’s idea would work in practice and whether it needed congressional approval.
“Well, we can do it through reconciliation,” he replied. “And again, this is the president coming back for working Americans. Those who have been left behind.”
The Treasury chief added that the proposal would be rolled out “in the coming weeks and months,” framing the initiative as a tool to help working Americans “who have been left behind.”
About half of full-time U.S. private-sector workers, or roughly 40.6 million people, lacked access to any employer-provided retirement plan as of November, according to the bipartisan Economic Innovation Group.
“The president wanted to preview it in his speech, but I think this is going to be a very big part of working Americans’ retirement program, because there is a tremendous amount of financial insecurity,” Bessent said Tuesday.
The retirement savings plan is just one of several proposals the Trump administration has unveiled in recent months as it works to overcome bleak polling numbers on the economy ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The president on Tuesday also touted other signature economic policies, including no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and the so-called “Trump accounts” for children.
The tax-free “Trump accounts” function as a specialized individual retirement savings plan for U.S. citizens under the age of 18, with an automatic contribution of $1,000 from the Treasury Department for those born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028.
Several major corporations have also pledged to match that contribution for children of their employees, and billions of dollars in private donations have poured in, according to Trump.
“Kristen, currently, 38 percent of Americans have no exposure to the equity market, and we think, over time, this is going to remedy that, so everybody will have a stake in our great, innovative economy and the American dream,” Bessent said.
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5754278-bessent-trump-retirement-plans-reconciliation/
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