US President Donald Trump is pushing parents to sign their children up for a new federally seeded investment account, promising it could set kids up with serious wealth by adulthood.
Trump Accounts were created under the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, signed on July 4, with the programme now being rolled out. Eligible American children born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028 can receive a one-time $1,000 contribution from the US Treasury, deposited into a tax-advantaged account invested in low-cost US stock index funds. Parents, employers, and other contributors can add up to $5,000 more each year.
“If parents have not done so already, and they are doing so in record numbers, they should go right away to TrumpAccounts.gov and sign their child up for a free investment savings account,” Trump said this week, urging families who have not registered to do so.
Trump has framed the accounts as a wealth-building head start rather than a handout, suggesting a child with little or no money today could eventually amass “hundreds of thousands of dollars at a very, very young age” growing to sums “nobody ever thought even possible.”
The pitch has drawn genuine enthusiasm, with several major employers pledging to match the government’s $1,000 seed deposit for staff, while billionaire philanthropists have also committed additional funding for lower-income families who may need extra support.
But the promise comes with real caveats. Because the money sits in the stock market rather than a guaranteed account, its eventual value depends entirely on market performance, how long it stays invested, and whether families keep contributing. There is no floor protecting against losses.
Economists and policy analysts have also warned that the accounts’ biggest beneficiaries may be higher-income families who can afford to make the maximum annual contributions, while lower-income households may end up with little beyond the initial deposit.
The launch puts a spotlight on how differently governments approach long-term savings for young people. New Zealand’s KiwiSaver, for comparison, is built primarily around retirement and first-home savings for working adults, with no equivalent government-seeded investment account for children at birth. It highlights how unusual a universal, government-funded child investment scheme like this one remains, even by international standards.