At a glance
- The accounts were created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and are governed by Section 530A of the tax code.
- Parents, grandparents and employers cannot contribute yet.
- A Trump Account needs a parent to finish enrollment, so Craig Copeland expects take-up well below the 90%-plus participation that auto-enrolled 401(k) plans reach.
Treasury auto-opened Trump Accounts for eligible children who did not already have one on or about Oct. 1, 2026; families must claim them before adding money.
The accounts were created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and are governed by Section 530A of the tax code. Treasury estimated the auto-opening will add more than 60 million accounts this year, according to the temporary regulations published Sept. 30.
Until a parent claims it, the account can accept only qualified general contributions from governments and charities, plus the $1,000 pilot contribution for certain children born 2025 through 2028. Parents, grandparents and employers cannot contribute yet.
A Trump Account needs a parent to finish enrollment, so Craig Copeland expects take-up well below the 90%-plus participation that auto-enrolled 401(k) plans reach. Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington, D.C., said "automatic" means something different here than in a workplace plan, where dollars flow in with a default investment.
A claim, then the planning questions
Eileen Olson, a CFP and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst who founded Emerald Wealth on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, said "many families won't even know it's there." She also said the parent who claims the account makes its decisions until the child turns 18, so divorcing parents and their attorneys should spell out who manages the account, who contributes and who receives statements, "just as they would for a 529."
Copeland describes the Trump Account as the least flexible of the children's accounts advisors use. "Once that money goes in until they're 18, you can't touch it," he said.
Vendors and trade groups are already addressing the enrollment gap. Candidly is adding AI agents for Trump Accounts and workplace benefits, and NAIFA urged the IRS in February 2026 to make financial professionals a core part of the rollout.
Matthew Chancey, a CFP and founder of Tax Alpha Companies in Florida, ties the risk to plan history: "An account you didn't choose is an account you don't watch. Ask anyone who left a 401(k) behind at an old job."
Reported by the Tax & estate planning desk from InvestmentNews. Published . Corrections