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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/10\/01\/business\/trump-accounts-auto-enrollment.html?emc=edit_ufn_20261001&nl=from-the-times&segment_id=227395",
    "parsed_content": "Trump AdministrationTrump AccountsDoubts About Hegseth\u2019s LeadershipFact Check of Fraud ClaimsNational Citizenship DatabaseApproval RatingAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTMost American Children Are Being Auto-Enrolled in Trump Accounts. What to Know.The Trump administration may have just signed up your child \u2014 and more than 60 million others \u2014 for a 530A savings account (if you haven\u2019t already done so).Listen \u00b7 10:09 min Share full articlePresident Trump during an Oval Office event to mark the launch of 530A accounts for children in July. Credit...Tierney L. Cross for The New York TimesBy Tara Siegel Bernard and Claire Cain MillerOct. 1, 2026Updated 6:51 p.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra m\u00e1s de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de b\u00fasqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Nearly all American children now have a new savings account with their name on it, as well as someone else\u2019s: President Trump\u2019s.The Treasury Department said on Thursday that it automatically enrolled more than 60 million children into Trump accounts, the tax-deferred savings vehicles also called 530A accounts that were introduced in July.The 530A accounts are essentially starter individual retirement accounts: Parents, guardians and others can contribute up to $5,000 annually. But other relatives, employers, philanthropists, governments and charitable groups can also make deposits, which grow tax-deferred in an ultralow-cost stock index fund.Once all children have accounts, the hope is that nonprofits and government donors will be more likely to make contributions.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTIf you have children under 18, they probably have one now, too. Here\u2019s everything you need to know:What just happened?The Treasury Department created Trump accounts for all eligible children who didn\u2019t already have one \u2014 or those who have Social Security numbers and who will not have turned 18 before the end of the calendar year.Before this week, parents or guardians had to sign up their children completely on their own. Though more than seven million children had been enrolled as of late July, that represents only about 10 percent of all eligible American children \u2014 and donors and policymakers were concerned the accounts weren\u2019t reaching those who could benefit the most. Just 5 percent of low-income families had opened 530A accounts for their children, according to a survey published in September by Commonwealth, a nonprofit.Automatic enrollment removes that hurdle, putting every eligible child in a position to receive the widely publicized free contributions from philanthropists, charitable organizations and governments, all of which Trump accounts are permitted to collect.\u201cThe research was overwhelmingly clear that auto enrollment is the way to get to full participation, especially for low-income folks, and I think Treasury listened,\u201d said Ray Boshara, a senior policy adviser at Washington University in St. Louis who has helped policymakers in both parties develop plans for children\u2019s savings accounts.Parents and guardians do not need to do anything to claim contributions from philanthropic groups and state and local governments. With an open account, children can automatically capture anything they may be eligible for.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTBut parents will need to take action \u2014 and claim the account \u2014 to make their own deposits and to receive matching contributions from employers. During that process, they must also elect to receive the federal government\u2019s seed deposit of $1,000 for eligible children born in 2025 through 2028.Will parents and guardians be notified \u2014 and what should they do next?The Treasury assigned Bank of New York Mellon as the trustee to handle the accounts until a parent or guardian claims it and assumes control.Parents can do that through the Trump account mobile app. During that process, parents or guardians must verify their identity, confirm their relationship to the child, review their child\u2019s information and accept the account terms, a Treasury spokesman said. Which organizations have already committed to making donations?The tech billionaire Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, will contribute $250 to many children. To be eligible for a Dell gift, the children must have been born in 2016 through 2024 and live in a ZIP code where the median household income is below $150,000.Though the Dells pledged to give 25 million children $250, so far, only about 1.2 million eligible children had opened accounts and received the money. With automatic enrollment, the deposits will go first to the children in the lowest-income areas, until they reach 25 million children. \u201cKids shouldn\u2019t miss out simply because their family didn\u2019t know about the program or hadn\u2019t opened an account,\u201d said Lucy Neugart, a spokeswoman for the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe hedge fund manager Ray Dalio committed $75 million for children in certain parts of Connecticut. Many other philanthropists and companies have pledged to make deposits of their own \u2014 and more are likely to be coming.Do these accounts make sense for everyone?Many financial experts say that all children can benefit from a 530A account, simply because it serves as a collection basket to receive free money. But not every household should contribute to one.Trump (or 530A) accounts are essentially individual retirement accounts \u2014 and squirreling away money for your children\u2019s retirement usually ranks low on the hierarchy of savings needs when there are so many other goals that should be prioritized first: having emergency funds, paying down debt, saving for your own retirement and your children\u2019s college. There are already a variety of accounts that are more flexible and tailored for many of those purposes.The money is largely locked up until January 1 of the year the child turns 18. At that point, the accounts become I.R.A.s that the child controls. That means money can be withdrawn penalty-free for specific purposes, like buying a home or paying for college. But withdrawals may be taxable as ordinary income and can potentially affect eligibility for financial aid.The Trump administration has highlighted the large balances that can materialize after many years with a fully funded account, but most American families don\u2019t have the wherewithal to contribute that much.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTIndividuals can contribute up to $5,000 a year, and employers can contribute up to $2,500, which counts toward that annual cap. But eligible government and philanthropic contributions can be made without limit and do not apply to the annual ceiling.How will children be enrolled going forward? And what if my child was excluded?The Treasury Department\u2019s rules say it will continue to periodically auto-enroll children, so most parents and guardians won\u2019t need to open the accounts on their own \u2014 they will still need, however, to claim their children\u2019s accounts.If the rare need arises, parents and guardians can enroll their children through the mobile app, the web page or I.R.S. Form 4547 (though the form requires a second step to activate the account later), the Treasury rules say.The Social Security Administration said in July that it would enroll newborns in the accounts when new parents requested a Social Security number \u2014 and the Treasury Department will continue to work with the agency on that, according to a Treasury spokesman.Is it an individual account \u2014 and how will any contributions be invested?Yes, these are individual accounts: Contributions are received and recorded by the individual account, but the money is invested collectively through a master group trust, the regulations said. Each account holds an interest in that trust, without disclosing taxpayer information, according to a Treasury Department spokesman. The money in the trust is invested in a large stock fund from State Street Investment Management.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTHow is the Treasury authorized to create an account for my child?The big tax and policy bill that Congress passed in July 2025 added a section to the federal tax code \u2014 known as 530A \u2014 that gave the Treasury permission to create children\u2019s initial accounts. This week, the I.R.S. issued temporary rules that accelerate that process, while also proposing final rules that allow the public to comment.The Trump administration had been under pressure from policymakers, philanthropists and researchers who study such accounts to automatically enroll children, based on a variety of research showing that low-earning families particularly benefit when children are automatically enrolled in investment accounts.But the administration had to come up with a structure that would allow the creation of individual accounts while also adhering to rules that say federal tax return information must remain confidential. The Treasury and I.R.S. had previously believed that was a major hurdle.What if I want to opt out?For now, you can\u2019t. Account creation is automatic, and there currently isn\u2019t a way to stop that before it happens, a Treasury spokesman said. Once an account has been claimed, it cannot be closed, either.But the Treasury and the I.R.S. have asked for comments on a process that would permanently remove a child\u2019s claim to any assets held in the account and result in its closure, the spokesman said.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTHow much will this cost taxpayers?The accounts are estimated to cost just over $15 billion through 2034, according to estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation.More than 95 percent of those costs come from the $1,000 federal government contribution for children born in 2025 through 2028, according to the Economic Policy Innovation Center, a policy group, and not any tax advantage.It wasn\u2019t immediately clear how much it would cost to administer millions of small-dollar accounts.What happens if a parent or guardian doesn\u2019t claim a child\u2019s account?The accounts will remain available to be claimed at any time, according to the Treasury, whether by the parent or guardian, or the year the child turns 18 and can claim it themselves.From the commentsClaire Cain MillerReporterI've been covering Trump accounts since they were introduced, as part of my beat covering families and children. The one thing I've been hearing the whole time is how important automatic enrollment is to meeting the goals of the policymakers and philanthropists backing these accounts.Tara Siegel-BernardPersonal finance reporterI opened 530A accounts for my children over the summer, but I don't plan to contribute to them. For now, I'm prioritizing my own retirement and 529 college savings. If you have children, what are your plans? And if you plan on claiming an account on behalf of a child, please let us know how it goes.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2026-10-01T16:33:33+00:00",
    "author_name": "Tara Siegel Bernard, Claire Cain Miller",
    "site_name": "The New York Times",
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    "ai_headline": "Most American Children Are Being Auto-Enrolled in Trump Accounts. What to Know.",
    "ai_simplified_title": "Trump Administration Auto-Enrolls 60 Million Children in Savings Accounts",
    "ai_excerpt": "The Treasury Department has automatically enrolled over 60 million American children into Trump accounts (530A savings accounts). This move aims to increase participation, especially among low-income families, by removing the hurdle of manual sign-up.",
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