Democracy Dies in Darkness

Trump wants to give workers $1,000 for retirement. Can it work?

Millions of workers don’t have employer-sponsored retirement accounts. But the president’s proposal in the State of the Union speech may not answer their needs.

February 28, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ESTYesterday at 6:00 a.m. EST

6 min

Make us preferred on Google

(Washington Post illustration; Peter W.Stevenson/The Washington Post; iStock)

Column by Michelle Singletary

There’s an expression that fraud experts use all the time to warn people about a suspected scam: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

That’s how I feel about President Donald Trump’s proposal to give millions of workers $1,000 a year to boost their retirement savings.

What readers are saying

The comments overwhelmingly criticize Trump's proposal to give workers $1,000 a year for retirement savings, viewing it as insufficient and potentially a distraction from more pressing issues like Social Security reform. Many commenters express skepticism about the proposal's... Show more

This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments.

Get unlimited access to The Washington Post

Get unlimited access to
The Washington Post