{"id":631416,"date":"2026-07-07T11:52:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=631416"},"modified":"2026-07-07T11:52:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:52:46","slug":"trump-eyes-major-retirement-overhaul-modeled-on-australia-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=631416","title":{"rendered":"Trump eyes major retirement overhaul modeled on Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Donald Trump revealed on Monday that his administration is working on establishing federal savings accounts similar to the ones used in Australia\u2019s three-pillar model retirement system.<\/p>\n

In Australia, the retirement system includes an old-age pension that\u2019s mean-tested, mandatory private retirement savings<\/strong>, and voluntary savings (optional investments, home ownership, etc.).<\/p>\n

\u201cI made reference today that Australia has a thing going that\u2019s very good \u2013 it\u2019s really worked out very well,\u201d the president said during a Rose Garden lunch Monday while promoting his \u201cTrump accounts\u201d for kids, according to Fox Business<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at that very strongly. We\u2019re going to be taking that, and we\u2019re going to be maybe making it a little bit sharper, a little bit even better. But we\u2019re going to be doing that,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The president further said these new accounts would be like the \u201cTrump accounts\u201d for kids, except \u201cmore for grown-ups.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Fox Business, Australia\u2019s retirement system centers around \u201csuperannuation,\u201d which the network describes as \u201ca mandatory savings program that requires employers to contribute 12% of a worker\u2019s ordinary earnings into tax-favored retirement accounts managed largely by private funds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

(Video Credit: AustraliaSuper)<\/p>\n

According to The Hill<\/a><\/em>, the president first expressed interest in this plan while speaking at a press conference in December.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a certain Australian plan that people are liking,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cThere\u2019s a plan where, not for children necessarily, but for people, working people, and we are looking at other things different from this. I think this is very unique, but different from this, but very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew Linden, the executive general manager of strategy and insights at Super Members Council, has also praised this model.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat has struck US officials and investors is how the strength of Australia\u2019s super system policy settings \u2014 automatic super payments, near universal coverage and preservation of savings until retirement \u2014 have helped Australians grow world-leading retirement nest eggs,\u201d he said in February, according to CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After the president\u2019s remarks, the Center for Retirement Research<\/a> at Boston College published a report comparing Australia\u2019s system, which is ranked B+, with America\u2019s system, which is ranked C+.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. system is just the inverse of the Australian system,\u201d according to the Center. \u201cWhile Australia\u2019s basic plan is the Superannuation defined contribution system set up in 1992 and managed by the private sector, our basic plan is the defined benefit Social Security program established in 1935 and operated by the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia then backfills shortfalls in retirement income with means-tested payments from the Age Pension, while we rely on favorable tax provisions to encourage workers to send additional amounts through workplace retirement plans,\u201d the Center notes.<\/p>\n

The problem with the U.S. system is that Social Security is going bankrupt<\/a>. An annual Social Security report published by the Trump administration last month found that Social Security will be fully solvent only until 2032.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until the fourth quarter of 2032, one quarter earlier than projected last year,\u201d the report read. \u201cAt that time, the fund\u2019s reserves will become depleted, and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 78 percent of total scheduled benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, Social Security\u2019s inevitable insolvency is now a year closer than before \u2014 and not just because another year has passed.<\/p>\n

\n

Is everyone paying attention? We have just SIX YEARS before Social Security is insolvent.<\/p>\n

Congress needs to stop burning money on fraud and crappy programs, balance the budget, and PROTECT Social Security so we can keep our promises to American seniors. pic.twitter.com\/rZPB707mSy<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) June 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

However, the left-wing Cato Institute<\/a> has warned that adopting Australia\u2019s approach would mean taking more money from people\u2019s paychecks.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompelling American workers to save on top of existing payroll taxes would displace voluntary savings and disproportionately harm low-income workers,\u201d the institute notes.<\/p>\n

The other option would be to divert a portion of payroll taxes into individual accounts. The problem with this is it\u2019d skyrocket the debt and increase Social Security\u2019s shortfall.<\/p>\n

\u201c[D]iverting half of payroll taxes into individual accounts would increase Social Security\u2019s 30-year shortfall by $50 trillion, exacerbating the already-dismal fiscal outlook and accelerating a debt crisis,\u201d according to the Institute.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump revealed on Monday that his administration is working on establishing federal savings accounts similar to the ones used in Australia\u2019s three-pillar model retirement system. In Australia, the retirement system includes an old-age pension that\u2019s mean-tested, mandatory private retirement savings, and voluntary savings (optional investments, home ownership, etc.). \u201cI made reference today that… Continue reading Trump eyes major retirement overhaul modeled on Australia<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":631395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-631416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-border-security","category-immigration","category-immigration-reform","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=631416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/631395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=631416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=631416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=631416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}