Executive Order 13847: Strengthening Retirement Security in America
President: Donald J. Trump
Directed Treasury and Labor to examine rules for multiple-employer retirement plans and review distribution notices, aiming to widen workplace plan access through later regulatory action.
Status: In effect. Sources: Official source · Official source.
Is Executive Order 13847 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13847 of August 31, 2018 remains unrevoked and has no expiration date. Its retirement-security policy continues even though specific review tasks led to later rules, including Treasury's updated life-expectancy tables published November 12, 2020.
What does Executive Order 13847 do?
EO 13847 asked Labor and Treasury to review retirement-plan disclosures, multiple-employer plans and related regulations. It did not itself change ERISA requirements or create a retirement account.
Later evidence reviewed September 24, 2026: The Labor Department issued a final rule expanding the circumstances in which unrelated employers may sponsor a common retirement plan, following the order’s direction to examine multiple-employer plans. DOL association retirement plans rule.
Before and after
Before the order
Retirement disclosure and multiple-employer plans were governed by existing Labor and Treasury rules.
After the order
The Labor Department issued a final rule expanding the circumstances in which unrelated employers may sponsor a common retirement plan, following the order’s direction to examine multiple-employer plans.
Who had to do what
| Agency / official | What the signed order directed | Deadline / timing |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary of Labor | Examine expansion of multiple-employer plans and access for part-time workers, sole proprietors and working owners; consider guidance or rulemaking on which groups qualify as ERISA employers; facilitate Treasury’s qualification guidance; review retirement-plan notices, including electronic delivery, with Treasury and consider changes if warranted. | ERISA-employer proposal consideration: within 180 days of August 31, 2018. Disclosure review: within one year; no separate deadline for facilitating Treasury guidance. |
| Secretary of the Treasury | Consider tax-qualification changes for multiple-employer plans, including failures by individual participating employers, consulting Labor before proposals; assist Labor’s disclosure review; examine life-expectancy and distribution tables and whether updates should be periodic. | Qualification proposal consideration and distribution-table review: within 180 days of August 31, 2018. Disclosure consultation accompanies Labor’s one-year review. |
Source: Signed Federal Register text.
What happened next
EO 13847 signed; its Federal Register publication followed.
The Labor Department issued a final rule expanding the circumstances in which unrelated employers may sponsor a common retirement plan, following the order’s direction to examine multiple-employer plans.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The Federal Register record identifies EO 13847, its title and signing date. The Labor Department issued a final rule expanding the circumstances in which unrelated employers may sponsor a common retirement plan, following the order’s direction to examine multiple-employer plans. The linked source supports this particular later event; it does not establish every present legal or operational effect.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 24, 2026. How we research →