{"id":98,"date":"2025-12-09T18:40:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/?p=98"},"modified":"2025-12-09T18:40:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:40:46","slug":"trump-said-hes-looking-into-an-australian-style-retirement-program-for-america-heres-how-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/?p=98","title":{"rendered":"Trump said he\u2019s looking into an Australian-style retirement program for America. Here\u2019s how it works"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration is looking Down Under for inspiration on how to improve the United States\u2019 retirement savings system.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said at the White House that his administration is looking into an Australian-style retirement program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at it very seriously,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good plan. It\u2019s worked out very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s primary retirement savings program \u2014 known as \u201csuperannuation\u201d \u2014 might have caught the attention of Washington officials.<\/p>\n

How superannuation works<\/h2>\n

Superannuation, or \u201csuper\u201d for short, is Australia\u2019s flagship retirement savings program.<\/p>\n

Employers are required to fund employees\u2019 savings accounts, which are invested in select funds \u2014 known as super funds \u2014 that are locked up until retirement. The employer-funded contributions are made on top of paying employees their regular income. Employees can also contribute to their own savings account.<\/p>\n

Employers must contribute the equivalent of 12% of an employee\u2019s income into these super funds \u2014 a gradual increase from 3% when the modern superannuation program was established in 1992.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no opt out,\u201d Tim Jenkins, partner at consulting firm Mercer, told CNN. \u201cIf you are employed, your employer must pay 12% of your pay to your retirement savings, and it\u2019s locked up until you\u2019re approaching retirement age with a few ways to access on the way, but very limited indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s super funds are the fourth-largest retirement savings pool in the world despite the country\u2019s ranking as the 55th largest country by population size, according to\u00a0JPMorgan Chase.<\/p>\n

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The total superannuation investment pool has roughly 4.5 trillion Australian dollars in assets (roughly $3 trillion).<\/p>\n

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Employees can choose from different super funds. The funds are managed by professional investors such as financial institutions, regulated by the government and are invested across a variety of global assets from stocks to private equity.<\/p>\n

Why it\u2019s popular<\/h2>\n

Australia\u2019s superannuation program was introduced to address concerns about an aging population and how to help people support themselves in retirement.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWith an aging population and declining birth rates, a system like this takes the fiscal burden off future generations,\u201d Jenkins said.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s retirement system is ranked B+ on the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index for 2025. Meanwhile, the United States is ranked C+.<\/p>\n

There is also a government pension program that serves as a safety net for people who need additional support. However, \u201csuper\u201d is increasingly the primary retirement savings vehicle.<\/p>\n

The US model<\/h2>\n

In the United States, employer-sponsored retirement programs like 401(k)s \u2014 which were first established in 1978 \u2014 are optional. Employers who offer 401(k) plans can decide whether they will match employees\u2019 contributions.<\/p>\n

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Social Security, which was established in 1935 under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, serves as the primary vehicle for retirement income. US workers and employers pay Social Security tax, which pools into a fund that is distributed to current retirees. Concerns have been mounting that Social Security funds are on shaky grounds as the US population ages.<\/p>\n

In general, Australia\u2019s compulsory employer-funded investment savings plan stands in contrast to the US system where voluntary 401(k)s are paired with the long-standing Social Security program.<\/p>\n

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Social Security won\u2019t be able to pay full benefits in 2034 if Congress doesn\u2019t act<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s unclear whether the United States would be able to implement a similar program to the superannuation model, especially given the politics associated with changing retirement plans. Australia also has a population of 27 million, while the United States has a population of roughly 343 million.<\/p>\n

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Trump\u2019s mention of Australia\u2019s retirement system wasn\u2019t the first time it has come up in his administration. Australian super funds are major investors in US assets, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke at a superannuation summit in Washington, D.C., in February, where he touted the program\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

Matthew Linden, executive general manager of strategy and insights at Super Members Council, who attended the\u00a0summit\u00a0in February, said: \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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration is looking Down Under for inspiration on how to improve the United States\u2019 retirement savings system. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[45,44,46],"class_list":["post-98","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-america","tag-australian","tag-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=98"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98\/revisions\/100"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/99"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=98"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=98"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socializenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=98"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}