President Obama gave retirement issues a light touch in his final State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Speculation and hopes by investor advocates Obama would mention the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule ultimately were unrealized.

The closest he came to urging a specific new retirement initiative was to urge that pensions be made portable.

“Even if he is going from job to job, [a worker] should be able to save for retirement and take his savings with him,” the president said.

He urged Congress to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, noting saving for retirement has gotten a lot tougher for people in their 40s and 50s.

In the only other direct mention of retirement, he said technological change has made it harder for people to retire when they want to.

As a paradox, the boldest program the president announced could make it harder for people to avoid outliving their savings: a “moonshot” effort to cure cancer, which could add years to people’s lifespans.