President Donald Trump says his administration is exploring a major overhaul of America’s retirement system modeled in part on Australia’s widely praised savings program, signaling that the White House’s recently launched “Trump Accounts” for children may be just the beginning of a broader effort to reshape how Americans prepare for retirement.
Speaking Monday during a Rose Garden lunch celebrating the rollout of Trump Accounts, the president said officials are studying Australia’s retirement model and believe it could leave American workers in a much stronger financial position later in life.
“I made reference today that Australia has a thing going that’s very good – it’s really worked out very well,” Trump said. “We’re looking at that very strongly. We’re going to be taking that, and we’re going to be maybe making it a little bit sharper, a little bit even better. But we’re going to be doing that.”
Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the proposal would focus on working adults rather than children and that his administration plans to work with Congress to advance the idea.
“That would be more for grown-ups, as opposed to children,” Trump said. “We’re going to discuss it with Congress and try very hard to get it done.”
According to the president, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other administration officials are already developing the proposal as a companion initiative to Trump Accounts, the investment program for children established under last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The Trump Accounts program automatically provides eligible newborns with a $1,000 government-funded investment account while allowing families and others to contribute up to $5,000 annually. The savings are invested in diversified, low-cost index funds tied to the broader U.S. stock market, with the goal of helping young Americans build wealth over time.
The administration now appears interested in applying similar long-term investment principles to retirement planning.
Australia’s retirement system revolves around what is known as “superannuation,” a mandatory retirement savings program that requires employers to contribute a percentage of an employee’s wages into tax-advantaged retirement accounts managed primarily by private investment funds. Employer contributions are currently set at 12 percent of ordinary earnings.
The system has frequently been cited by retirement experts as one of the strongest in the world because it encourages consistent long-term investing throughout a worker’s career while reducing reliance on government pensions alone.
Trump first expressed interest in Australia’s model last December while announcing a $6.25 billion commitment from Michael and Susan Dell toward Trump Accounts. At the time, he suggested the administration was examining similar concepts for working Americans.
The renewed push comes as policymakers continue debating the long-term financial health of Social Security. While Australia’s retirement framework receives high marks internationally, analysts at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College have cautioned that adopting elements of the Australian model would not eliminate the need to strengthen Social Security or expand access to employer-sponsored retirement plans in the United States.
Some financial leaders have likewise argued for incorporating more market-based investing into America’s retirement system. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has previously proposed allowing a portion of Social Security funds to be invested in financial markets as one possible way to improve the program’s long-term sustainability.
Although few details of the administration’s proposal have been released, Trump’s comments suggest the White House is pursuing a broader strategy focused on increasing personal investment and long-term wealth creation rather than relying solely on traditional government retirement programs.
“It’s something that’s going to be great, I think, if we can get it done,” Trump said.
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