Don’t let today’s executive order fool you – throughout his presidency, Trump has made it harder for workers to save for retirement.

Trump has focused on rolling back Obama-era policies aimed at helping workers save for retirement.

Bloomberg: “The action will come as the first retirement policy set forward by the administration, which has focused primarily on rolling back President Barack Obama’s retirement policies.”

Trump killed a measure that would have encouraged states to establish auto-IRA programs to help workers without 401(k)s save for retirement.

Time: “Trump Just Delivered Another Blow To Retirement Savers”

Time: “President Donald Trump Wednesday signed into law a measure that will make it harder for workers without 401(k) plans to save for retirement.  Trump’s move quashes an Obama-era regulation that encouraged states to establish auto-IRA programs, under which companies without retirement plans would automatically sign employees up for payroll-deduction IRAs.”

The Trump administration ended the myRA program that helped tens of thousands of Americans save for retirement.

New York Times: “An Obama-era program that created savings accounts to help more people put away money for retirement is being shut down by the Treasury Department, which deemed the program too expensive.  The 30,000 participants in the program, known as myRA and intended for people who did not have access to workplace savings plans, will receive an email on Friday morning alerting them of the closure.”

Trump delayed the fiduciary rule aimed at protecting retirement savers and proposed replacing it with a watered-down version.

Washington Post: “President Trump on Friday stalled a long-awaited rule meant to protect retirement savers from receiving poor investment advice.  In addition to signing a sweeping executive order meant to roll back financial regulations, the president called on the Labor Department to look into revising the fiduciary rule, which aims to hold brokers to a higher standard by requiring them to put their clients’ interest ahead of their own.”

Wall Street Journal: “The SEC’s plan to require brokers act in the best interest of clients is less restrictive than the Labor Department’s ‘fiduciary rule’ affecting retirement accounts that was completed during the last days of the Obama administration, and will likely spark complaints from congressional Democrats and consumer groups that it is too permissive.”

Trump proposed billions of dollars in cuts to retirement benefits for millions of federal retirees.

Washington Post: “President Trump really knows how to say thank you. Just as festivities geared up for Public Service Recognition Week, which began Sunday, his administration sent a letter to Congress proposing $143.5 billion in compensation cuts for federal employees. In a letter to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) on Friday, Office of Personnel Management Director Jeff T.H. Pon pushed four proposals that, over 10 years, would significantly cut retirement benefits for 2.6 million federal retirees and survivors.”