Trump Accounts: 70 Million Kids Are Auto-Enrolled — Here's How Parents Claim the $1,000

The Treasury Department has finished automatically enrolling nearly 70 million American children in so-called Trump Accounts, the tax-advantaged savings accounts created by this year's tax-and-spending law. Auto-enrollment wrapped up October 1, adding more than 60 million accounts to the roughly 5.6 million that families had already opened voluntarily since the program launched on July 4. President Trump announced the milestone at an Oval Office event on October 7 alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Every child under 18 with a valid Social Security number now has an account, but the headline $1,000 government seed deposit is narrower: it goes only to U.S. citizen children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028. Treasury says roughly $4.5 billion has flowed into accounts since launch — about $1.3 billion in government seed money, $600 million contributed by family and friends, and $2.6 billion from philanthropic donors — which works out to an average of only around $64 per account once the number is spread across the full enrolled population.

Parents still have to claim the money

An account existing is not the same as an account being usable. Parents and guardians have to actively claim each child's account, either through the Trump Accounts mobile app or at TrumpAccounts.gov, before any deposit can be invested or accessed. Once claimed, families and friends can add up to $5,000 a year, and employers can contribute up to $2,500 annually on a child's behalf; the government's seed deposit and certain nonprofit or government contributions don't count against either cap. The money is invested mostly in low-cost index funds, and as of a rule change on September 30, corporations can also donate shares of their own stock directly into accounts, provided the gift goes to at least 5,000 recipients and is held for a minimum of five years — a structure that has drawn questions about concentration risk for families who end up holding a single company's stock.

Philanthropy has become a meaningful part of the funding mix. Michael and Susan Dell's foundation has pledged $6.25 billion to add $250 apiece to the accounts of up to 25 million children age 10 and under in households earning less than $150,000 a year. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell has also donated company stock into accounts under the new corporate-gift rule.

Big growth projections, bigger disagreements

The administration has promoted eye-catching long-run projections: a $1,000 seed left untouched, it says, could grow to roughly $243,000 by age 55, and an account maxed out every year could theoretically reach $13 million. Independent financial planners call those numbers optimistic, putting a more realistic range for a fully funded account closer to $1.5 million to $2 million by retirement age, depending on market returns over three-plus decades. The White House says about 80% of claimed accounts are linked to households earning under $200,000 a year, but Stanford economists who have studied the program argue the structure still tilts the real-dollar benefit toward families who can afford to contribute the full $5,000 annual limit year after year, rather than those relying on the government's seed money alone.

At 18, a Trump Account converts into a traditional IRA. Withdrawals are then taxed as ordinary income, and early withdrawals can trigger additional penalties, with exceptions carved out for qualifying expenses such as education costs or a first-home purchase.