President Donald Trump, in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, suggested a major new retirement benefit for tens of millions of American workers, embracing an economic policy that proponents say could bolster the federal retirement safety net.
Speaking to congressional lawmakers, Trump pledged to extend to private-sector workers the same type of retirement plan already available to federal employees. He also said the government would kick in up to $1,000 per year to their accounts, presumably in matching benefits. Roughly 54 million workers in the private sector have no workplace retirement benefits and do not benefit from stock market gains, according to research cited by the Economic Innovation Group, a Washington-based think tank, as part of what some experts have termed a “retirement crisis” in America.
“Half of all of working Americans still do not have access to a retirement plan with matching contributions from an employer,” Trump said. “To remedy this gross disparity, I’m announcing that next year, my administration will give these often forgotten American workers – great people, the people that built our country – access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker. We will match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year.”
The announcement was celebrated by Trump supporters as a major new economic policy heading into the 2026 midterm elections, but critics pointed out some problems with Trump’s pledges, and are skeptical it will substantially boost savings for working-class Americans.
The most obvious challenge is that it’s not clear how much Trump can do on his own. Under existing authorities, the administration can create portable retirement accounts – modeled on the Thrift Savings Plan used by federal employees – and make them available to workers who currently lack a workplace plan. But the government cannot compel employers or workers to automatically enroll, nor can it unilaterally appropriate funds to provide a universal $1,000 match to all eligible workers.
Instead, the administration can facilitate take-up of a benefit that already exists. The bipartisan Secure 2.0 bill, signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, created a “Saver’s Match” – a federal contribution of up to $1,000 annually for qualifying workers who put $2,000 in an eligible retirement account. One problem has been that many eligible workers have had nowhere to put their contributions. Trump’s executive action could create additional account infrastructure, but eligibility would still be constrained. Only workers who make less than $25,000 per year, or roughly $41,000 for couples, are eligible.
More impactful would be if Trump’s comments spur congressional action. A White House official suggested that the administration will support bipartisan legislation to automatically enroll eligible workers in federal accounts, provide the $1,000 federal match for low- and moderate-income workers, and make those accounts portable across jobs. One bill is backed by a coalition that spans Charles Schwab, AARP, DoorDash and Uber.
White House economist Kevin Hassett has backed a similar kind of approach. Of the more than $200 billion in annual income tax expenditures related to retirement savings, less than 1 percent flows to workers in the bottom income quintile, according to the Economic Innovation Group. This would move some of those benefits down the income distribution.
“Since we’ve had the 401(k) system this has always been the problem: A huge share of the workforce has not been participating and doesn’t have access to these benefits. Closing that gap is a big first step,” said John Lettieri, co-founder of the Economic Innovation Group. “It’s a long-run exercise to get people into the market, engaged in long-term savings and investment behavior with matching benefits. That’s a proven way of building wealth over time, including for low-income savers.”
That said, there are reasons to doubt that even the legislation being debated in Congress would do much to increase retirement security for low-income workers. Low-income Americans often do not have enough to live on already, much less an extra $2,000 per year to put into retirement accounts, said Matt Bruenig, founder of the People’s Policy Project, a left-leaning think tank.
The Survey of Consumer Finances suggests that fewer than 12 percent of people who earn below $43,000 save for retirement.
“Almost no low-income people have retirement accounts. This is not because they are disallowed from having them,” Bruenig said. “It’s because they can barely pay their bills. Nothing in the president’s plan changes that.”
(c) 2026, The Washington Post
A heavy cloud of mourning descended upon the Vizhnitzer kehillah in Montreal with the news of the petirah of Rav Asher Greenfeld zt”l, who served for four decades as the rav and av beis din of Vizhnitz in Montreal. He was 82.
The levayah is scheduled to take place today at 5:30 p.m. at Beis Medrash Imrei Chaim-Vizhnitz in Montreal. His aron will be brought to Eretz Yisroel, where the levayah will be held on Friday. He will be laid to rest in the Vizhnitzer beis hachaim in Bnei Brak.
Rav Greenfeld was a living symbol of hasmadah and unwavering shteiging in Torah. His vast bekius and iyun in Shas and poskim, acquired during his formative years in the great yeshivos and refined throughout his life, established him as a respected talmid chochom and marbitz Torah who raised many talmidim. He was renowned as a peh mapik margoliyos, an exceptional darshan who illuminated aggadah and maamarei Chazal with sweetness and clarity, inspiring his listeners with depth and warmth.
In every fiber of his being, Rav Greenfeld was a devoted chassid, deeply connected b’lev v’nefesh to the holy chain of Vizhnitzer tzaddikim. The fire of chassidus burned within him in his tefillos and hanhagos, and he served as a living example of total hisbatlus to the tzaddikei hador.
Beyond his gadlus baTorah, Rav Greenfeld possessed an expansive Jewish heart that beat constantly for others. He was a true baal chesed, tirelessly assisting almanos, yesomim, and brokenhearted individuals. His tzedakah was most often given quietly, with extraordinary sensitivity to the kavod of the recipient. Those close to him would say that there was no lack that did not find an address by him and no tear that did not find comfort.
Rav Greenfeld was born on the fourth of Adar in 1944 into a home steeped in Torah and mesirus nefesh. He was named after his grandfather, Rav Asher of Ober-Epsach. From his earliest years, he was bound with a deep spiritual kesher to the Vizhnitzer dynasty.
As a young child living with his family in Switzerland, he merited a rare experience when the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, the Imrei Chaim, came to raise funds for the establishment of Kiryat Vizhnitz in Bnei Brak. The Rebbe stayed in the Greenfeld family’s modest two-room apartment. Despite the cramped quarters, Rav Greenfeld’s father, Reb Baruch Greenfeld, joyfully gave up an entire room for the Rebbe, while the family crowded together for two weeks. That mesirus nefesh and hiskashrus were etched into the young boy’s soul and shaped the course of his life.
Rav Asher merited to sit on the Rebbe’s lap during that visit. The Rebbe remarked with affection that when he himself had been young, he sat on the lap of Rav Asher of Ober-Epsach, saying, “When I was small and you were big, I sat on your knees; now that you are small and I am big, you sit on mine.”
In his bochur years, Rav Greenfeld learned at Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin in Bnei Brak. He was distinguished by his diligence and refinement, but above all by his deep hiskashrus to his rabbeim. He did not miss a single tish of the Imrei Chaim and later forged a particularly close bond with the Rebbe’s son, the Yeshuos Moshe, who served as rav of the neighborhood at the time.
Rav Greenfeld was among the select few who remained after the tish to participate in the late-night bateh conducted by the Yeshuos Moshe in the shul, where he absorbed the inner teachings of chassidus and the depth of Aggadah. Over time, he became one of the Rebbe’s closest and most trusted talmidim. The Yeshuos Moshe would say affectionately that the name Asher was an acronym for “Ratzon Avinu Shebashamayim.”
In 1986, at the behest of the Yeshuos Moshe, Rav Greenfeld undertook a great shlichus: to relocate to Montreal and lead the developing Vizhnitzer kehillah there. With remarkable hisbatlus and mesirus nefesh, he accepted the mission, initially traveling alone and leaving his family in Eretz Yisroel during the first year.
In Montreal, he founded the kollel that became the vibrant spiritual heart of the community. For 40 years he stood at its helm, teaching Torah and raising generations of talmidim. In addition to serving as rosh kollel, he functioned as rav of the kehillah, guiding his flock with chochmah, tevunah, and an ayin tovah.
His relationship with the members of the kehillah was personal and heartfelt. From small children to respected elders, each felt a genuine closeness to him. He loved every Yid with sincerity, and that love was returned in full.
Upon the histalkus of the Yeshuos Moshe in 2012, Rav Greenfeld was shattered with grief. Yet even in his pain, he demonstrated complete hisbatlus to the continuation of the dynasty’s leadership, publicly affirming his allegiance to the new Rebbe and strengthening the kehillah with clarity and resolve.
Rav Greenfeld was held in high esteem by gedolei Yisroel of his generation. He maintained close ties with Rav Shmuel Wosner and with the Skverer Rebbe, who received him with special honor. He was often welcomed for extended yechidus, where they discussed Torah, stories of tzaddikim, and matters of chizuk hadas.
His mastery of Torah was extraordinary. Shas Bavli and Yerushalmi were clear to him, as were Tanach and the words of Chazal. He delved deeply into Toras hachassidus and pnimiyus haTorah, extracting pearls of machshavah and guidance. His drashos combined depth, clarity, and fiery hislahavus, making him one of the most sought-after speakers among Vizhnitz chassidim. He addressed major gatherings, including global hisvaaduyos and memorial asifos honoring his Rebbe.
Rav Greenfeld was equally known as an amud hachesed. Large sums of tzedakah passed through his hands and were distributed quietly. When the kollel faced financial crisis, he once mortgaged his private home to ensure the avreichim could continue learning without worry. For him, personal assets were merely tools in the service of Klal Yisroel.
Each year before Pesach, he organized extensive maos chittim distributions for dozens of families, ensuring that the assistance was given with maximum discretion and dignity. At fundraising events, after delivering stirring words, he would often conclude with a gentle smile and declare by example, contributing a substantial amount himself to encourage others.
Rav Greenfeld leaves behind a dor yesharim, children and grandchildren who are engaged in Torah, chinuch, and askonus.
Yehi zichro baruch.
{Matzav.com}
An Israeli woman of Turkish descent who had recently completed her military service was detained in Turkey on allegations of “service in a foreign military” and later released following diplomatic efforts involving Israeli officials and assistance from the United States.
The young woman had traveled to Turkey to visit her parents when she was taken into custody. According to reports, Islamist groups in the country publicized her personal details and filed a complaint with authorities, urging them to block her from leaving Turkey.
She was held for several days before authorities decided to transfer her to house arrest.
Channel 12 reported that Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stepped in shortly after her detention, acting swiftly and coordinating parallel efforts to obtain support from the U.S. administration. Both sides worked to marshal the necessary channels to secure her release.
After sustained behind-the-scenes activity, the woman was released in what was described as a discreet and dramatic operation. She was placed on a flight back to Israel through a third country and accompanied by Israeli representatives during her return.
{Matzav.com}
