Starting in January, the federal government will begin depositing money directly into eligible workers’ retirement accounts — a first in U.S. policy. But millions of lower‑income women are poised to miss the new Saver’s Match entirely because they don’t have an account for the funds to land in.

The Saver’s Match came out of the retirement law Congress passed in 2022, and it finally goes live next year. The idea is plain. You contribute to a retirement account. If your income qualifies, the government matches you, up to $1,000 a year.

Now ask yourself a question. If a job offered you a dollar-for-dollar match on your 401(k), would you walk past it? A match is the closest thing to free money that exists in personal finance. Everyone in my world tells you to grab every dollar of it.

So why am I worried that the women who need this most will never see a........

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