U.S. President Donald Trump boasted of stock market gains in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday and pledged that the government would contribute to workers' retirement savings, while saying little to reduce jitters on Wall Street about the future of his tariffs and global trade policy.
"People were probably looking for something more definitive on the tariffs, and I'm not sure we've had that," said Karen Jorritsma, head of Australian equities at RBC Capital Markets in Sydney.
Trump boasted of 53 stock market record highs since he won his second term in November 2024 in his address.
"Because the stock market has done so well, setting all those records, your 401(k)s are way up," Trump said, referring to a widely used retirement savings account.
Trump also announced plans next year to match 401(k) employee contributions of up to $1,000 each year for "forgotten American workers" who do not have access to retirement plans that offer employer contributions.
Such government-funded retirement savings contributions could fuel future gains in the stock market, said Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
More than 44% of full-time U.S. workers — about 40.6 million people — don’t participate in any retirement plan, and nearly 51% (48.8 million) receive no employer match, according to the White House.
To address the gap, the administration is considering new public retirement accounts modeled after the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan, which offers low-fee funds tied to short-term Treasuries and the S&P 500, the New York Post reports.
Under provisions already passed in the Secure 2.0 Act of 2022, eligible Americans will have access to the Saver’s Match, which beginning in 2028 will provide a federal match of up to 50% on the first $2,000 contributed annually to a workplace retirement plan or IRA — a potential $1,000 yearly match based on 2027 tax returns.
Officials say the matching funds would be financed through Secure 2.0 Act passed in 2022.
The administration is also exploring ways to make the accounts portable so workers can keep them when switching jobs. Private philanthropists may also be allowed to contribute.
The White House has not detailed how the broader program would be funded or precisely when new accounts would launch.
The proposal follows other savings initiatives, including new tax-advantaged “Trump accounts” for children under 18 starting July 4.
For children born between 2025 and 2028, the Treasury will seed accounts with $1,000. Annual contributions will be capped at $5,000, with employers allowed to contribute up to $2,500.
The push comes as markets have surged during Trump’s second term, with the S&P 500 up roughly 15% and the Dow recently surpassing 50,000 for the first time.
With reporting by Reuters
© 2026 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.