For too long, the promise of a secure retirement has eluded millions of hardworking Americans – particularly lower-income workers, women, and minorities. Despite the undeniable progress made through workplace retirement plans, the reality remains: a persistent retirement savings wealth gap threatens our nation’s most vulnerable populations.
Today, the dawn of a new era is upon us—a “Triple Crown” of policy and innovation poised to finally close that gap. Auto Portability, the Saver’s Match, and the newly launched Trump Accounts together offer unparalleled potential to empower all Americans to retire with dignity.
What ties these three transformational programs together?
Each one targets small-balance savers – those who historically face the greatest risk of cash-outs, forgotten assets, and missed opportunities for wealth accumulation. These small balances, typically held by lower-income workers, women, and minorities, have been ignored or eroded by inefficiency, friction, and fragmentation.
Now, proven financial technology and forward-looking public policy have aligned to rewrite that narrative.
Auto Portability: Seamless Consolidation, $1.6 Trillion in New Wealth
Auto Portability is the technological foundation for the Triple Crown: an automated way to transfer small retirement plan balances from a former employer’s 401(k) to the new employer’s active plan when workers change jobs. Instead of being cashed out or forgotten, those balances are consolidated—rolled in and preserved for retirement.
According to the latest Auto Portability Simulation from Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH), industrywide adoption of auto portability over the next 40 years will grow net incremental retirement wealth by $1.6 trillion – benefiting 175.6 million job-changing Americans. Minority workers, who are disproportionately impacted by small-balance cash-outs, would see a dramatic boost: 98 million minority job-changers would preserve $744 billion in retirement wealth, with Black Americans accounting for $216 billion of that gain.
This is not hypothetical – leading recordkeepers have joined together to create the Portability Services Network, representing 63% of the defined contribution system (participant basis) and are actively rolling out auto portability for defined contribution plans right now.
For a nation that loses over $92 billion to retirement asset “leakage” every year, auto portability finally provides the efficiency and scale necessary to preserve and consolidate small balances, and to keep retirement savings growing.
The Saver’s Match: $2.03 Trillion in Wealth, 27.1 Million Eligible Savers Per Year
SECURE 2.0 introduced the Saver’s Match, a game-changing federal program that replaces the Saver’s Credit with a direct government match. Eligible savers – primarily lower- and middle-income Americans—will receive a 50% federal match on the first $2,000 contributed to a retirement account each year, starting for the 2027 tax year.
Morningstar Retirement’s research, documented in a 6/31/25 article, projected that the Saver’s Match could generate $2.03 trillion in long-term, incremental retirement wealth for Americans at retirement age. Adding credence to that jaw-dropping figure, the RCH Saver’s Match Simulation (SMS) finds that as many as 27.1 million Americans could be eligible each year, with the average matching contribution reaching $634 per participant.
Effective implementation is critical. For eligible savers, claiming a matching contribution under the program should be a snap. Adoption by defined contribution plan recordkeepers and plan sponsors will ensure that all matching contributions reach a valid, qualified retirement savings account.
In my view, the Saver’s Match could stand to be the single most powerful tool the federal government has ever created to incentivize retirement savings for small-balance savers.
Trump Accounts: $799.5 Billion in Treasury-Funded Retirement Assets
The third and final leg of the Triple Crown, Trump Accounts, represents a bold new approach: starting in 2025 and running through 2028, every child born in the U.S. receives a $1,000 contribution directly from the Treasury, deposited into their own Trump Account—a tax-advantaged retirement account. If those accounts are held to retirement, based on the projected level of live births in the U.S., RCH calculates that four years’ worth of Treasury deposits could ultimately grow to $799.5 billion in incremental retirement savings.
Accessible to all newborns, regardless of their family’s income, the funds are exclusively invested in low-cost index funds, with restrictions against early withdrawals except for critical life events. The structure is intentionally designed to seed small balances early, ensuring that every American has a baseline of retirement assets that can compound over decades – essentially leveling the playing field from birth.
Proven Financial Technology
Realizing the promise of these programs relies upon proven financial technology.
Auto Portability has demonstrated, through successful launches at major recordkeepers and rapidly increasing plan sponsor adoption, that modern data connectivity and secure processes can move small balances with minimal friction. Applying this same robust technology will make the implementation and operation of the Saver’s Match and Trump Accounts both efficient and effective.
A Call to Action
But technology alone isn’t enough. Financial services providers and plan sponsors must step up. The clock is ticking. Every year spent in “wait and see” mode means millions miss out, and the retirement gap grows.
The data is clear:
- Auto Portability can deliver $1.6 trillion in new retirement wealth – much of it directly to communities that have been left behind.
- The Saver’s Match could add another $2.03 trillion, propelling 27.1 million low- and moderate-income Americans per year toward a more secure retirement.
- Trump Accounts have the potential to seed $799.5 billion in government-funded assets for future retirees and ultimately break the generational cycle of retirement insecurity.
If you’re a financial services provider or plan sponsor, now is the time to act.
Adopt auto portability. Prepare your platform for the Saver’s Match. Advocate for Trump Accounts with rigorous standards and transparent communication. Help your participants reap the benefits of innovation and policy.
Together, we can close America’s retirement wealth gap. Let’s seize the promise of the Triple Crown – Auto Portability, the Saver’s Match, and Trump Accounts – and make the retirement dream a reality for all Americans, regardless of income, gender, or background.
Are you ready to be part of the solution? The opportunity – and responsibility – has never been greater.