At a glance
- A parent must still claim the account through an identity verification process before adding money or changing how it is invested, Tim Steffen, director of advanced planning at Baird in Milwaukee, told InvestmentNews.
- Parents of children born between 2025 and 2028 must also proactively request the $1,000 pilot program seed contribution.
- Steffen keeps 529 plans first when education is the goal, citing larger contribution amounts, greater investment flexibility and, most importantly, the tax advantages.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury completed automatic enrollment for Trump Accounts on October 1, 2026, opening accounts for more than 60 million eligible children, according to InvestmentNews. This publication previously reported that Treasury draft rules would auto-open 63.36 million child accounts.
A parent must still claim the account through an identity verification process before adding money or changing how it is invested, Tim Steffen, director of advanced planning at Baird in Milwaukee, told InvestmentNews. "While this change does remove a step in the process, it creates a new one, so we need to remind our clients that just because the Treasury will open the account for them, their work isn't done," he said.
Parents of children born between 2025 and 2028 must also proactively request the $1,000 pilot program seed contribution. Steffen said that step has not changed.
Where 529 plans still come first
Steffen keeps 529 plans first when education is the goal, citing larger contribution amounts, greater investment flexibility and, most importantly, the tax advantages. For children whose education funding is already secured, he said the calculus shifts. Trump Accounts carry no work requirement, unlike other forms of an IRA, which makes them a way to save for a child who could not otherwise fund a traditional or Roth IRA.
Steffen flagged one pitfall he expects advisers to encounter repeatedly: converting a Trump Account to a Roth IRA right away at age 18. If the child is still subject to the kiddie tax at that age, the conversion would be taxed at the parents' rate, which is likely much higher than the child's. His suggestion is to wait until the child is no longer subject to the kiddie tax.
A parent must still claim the account through an identity verification process before adding money or changing how it is invested, Tim Steffen, director of advanced planning at Baird in Milwaukee, told InvestmentNews.
Reported by the Policy & ERISA desk from InvestmentNews — Retirement. Published . Corrections