Trump ‘seriously’ considering version of Australia’s superannuation system

Washington: US President Donald Trump has praised Australia’s superannuation system and says he is considering adopting a version of it, implying it could be used to help lift the dwindling American birthrate.

Trump made the remarks at an event unveiling an unprecedented $US6.25 billion ($9.5 billion) donation from Michael and Susan Dell, of the Dell technology company, towards the bank accounts of millions of eligible American children.

The Dell gift would give $US250 to 25 million children under the age of 11 who live in areas where the median income is less than $US150,000 a year. It is designed to complement a separate $US1000 in seed funds that the Trump administration is giving to children born during his second term, in so-called “Trump accounts”.

Part of the rationale for these programs was to offer a sort of “baby bonus” to try to arrest the declining US fertility rate – a prominent concern among the MAGA movement.

When Trump was asked what else the administration was considering to lift the birthrate, he appeared to suggest the Australian superannuation system.

“We are looking at programs. There’s a certain Australian plan that people are liking and they’re talking about … not for children, necessarily, but it’s for people, working people,” he said, and turned to look at Michael Dell for confirmation.

Another reporter asked Trump to clarify that he meant the Australian retirement savings program, known as superannuation.

“That’s what they’re talking about, yep,” Trump said. “We’re looking at it very seriously. It has worked out very well, it’s a good plan.”

This masthead has asked the White House for further clarification.

The US already has a pension fund system called the 401k, into which employees can voluntarily make payments or opt into automatic payments by their employer.

The Australian government and ambassador Kevin Rudd have relentlessly promoted Australia’s superannuation system to American industry, investors and the Trump administration as a source of potential capital.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attended a special superannuation summit in February at the Australian embassy in Washington, where he said he was impressed by the reliable growth of Australia’s pension funds.

“I was struck by … the confidence that you have in the growth. It’s not what one might expect for Australia,” he said. One would have expected growth to be more dependent on the price of iron ore, he said.

Australia’s superannuation sector manages the fourth-biggest pool of pension funds in the world, and the US is the number one international destination for that capital.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the February summit that the super pool was “larger than the capital controlled by the sovereign wealth funds of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – combined”.

The amount invested in the US is about $US400 billion and projected to reach $US1 trillion over the next decade.

Under the so-called Trump accounts program – a measure in the One Big Beautiful Bill – the US government will deposit $US1000 into a “trust fund” for each American child born from January 1, 2025 to the end of 2028.

The funds will be invested in a broad stockmarket index, and families and others can add up to $US5000 a year to each account. The money can’t be withdrawn until the child turns 18. Contributions can be made from July 4, 2026, the White House says.

Bessent, the Treasury secretary, said the accounts would start “a new age of capitalism and market interest for the whole country”.

“We are going to make sure that all American families have a stake in the success of the United States of America,” he said. “People who have a stake in the system and become more and more invested in the system do not want to bring down the system, they want to make it better.”

The Dell money would use similar infrastructure to the Trump accounts but would go to children born between 2016 and 2024, and is reserved for children from zip codes with a median household income below $US150,000.

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