Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. Recently, President Donald Trump unveiled a proposal that would broaden retirement-saving options for Americans who currently lack access to workplace plans. The goal is to extend retirement investment opportunities to workers without employer-sponsored programs, such as 401(k)s — a gap that often affects employees at smaller companies and lower-wage earners.
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"To remedy this gross disparity, I'm announcing that next year my administration will give these often-forgotten American workers … access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker." He then announced that his administration would be matching contributions with up to $1,000 every year to "ensure that all Americans can profit from a rising stock market." His announcement doesn't come from nowhere: Many Americans aren't where they want to be in their retirement-saving journey. Data from the Federal Reserve's Economic Well-Being of the U.S. Households in 2024 report shows that only 35% of non-retired adults believe their retirement savings are on track (2).
Even if the proposal doesn't move ahead, millions of Americans are already saving for retirement without employer-sponsored plans. Here's where the average worker falls and what you can do if your job doesn't offer a contribution match. According to the Economic Innovation Group (EIG), a bipartisan public policy research firm, 42% of full-time working Americans — excluding government workers and the self-employed — don't have access to a workplace retirement plan, while 44.1% in total do not participate in one and 50.5% of all workers don't benefit from an employer match (3).
Furthermore, the 2025 report of the Investment Company Institute's annual American Views on Defined Contribution Plan Saving survey found that 47% of Americans with a defined contribution retirement plan, such as a 401(k), say they probably wouldn't save for retirement if they didn't have an employer-matching program (4). Workplace programs like 401(k)s can make saving easier by automatically deducting contributions from paychecks and offering employer-matched features that help workers build savings over time with less effort. However, it's also worth noting that those without access to workplace plans also tend to earn less.
For example, the EIG reports that only a quarter of the top half of American workers by income don't have access to a workplace plan — compared to 65.2% of the bottom half. Trump's proposal builds on changes already expected to roll out in the coming years, including the so-called Saver's Match introduced in 2022 that is meant to deposit government contributions directly into eligible retirement accounts. Starting in the 2027 tax year, this program will replace the nonrefundable Saver's Credit (5).
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