Treasury opens Trump Accounts for more than 60 million eligible children; parents must claim

The Treasury Department completed automatic enrollment for Trump Accounts on Oct. 1, 2026, opening accounts for more than 60 million eligible children, InvestmentNews reported.

A claimed account is the prerequisite for nearly everything else, Tim Steffen, director of advanced planning at Baird in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, told InvestmentNews. Parents must claim the account through an identity verification process before they can make additional contributions or change how the account is invested. The Auto Account holds tax-exempt gifts, and a parent must claim the Auto Account before individual or employer dollars can go in, InvestmentNews reported.

Parents of children born between 2025 and 2028 must still proactively request the $1,000 pilot program seed contribution, InvestmentNews reported; Steffen describes that step as unchanged. "While some things have changed, I wouldn't say this is a monumental shift or anything," he said. Auto-enrollment, he added, makes it easier for a child to qualify for contributions from charities.

For families saving for a child's education, Steffen keeps 529 plans in front. "Most parents and grandparents looking to save money for a child are thinking about funding education expenses," he said. For that purpose, he calls 529s clearly the best choice, citing larger contribution amounts, greater investment flexibility and tax advantages.

Steffen frames Trump Accounts as a complement to existing tools, not a replacement. The case for them strengthens once education is already funded: the accounts carry no work requirement, so children who could not otherwise fund a traditional or Roth IRA can contribute. InvestmentNews reported the accounts follow IRA rules that end the year the beneficiary turns 17.

The mistake Steffen expects advisors to see repeatedly is a Roth IRA conversion rushed at 18. Converting the account eventually is something most advisors recognize as valuable, he said, but doing it right away can be expensive: if the child is still subject to the kiddie tax at 18, the conversion is taxed at the parents' rate, which is likely much higher than the child's rate. His suggestion is to wait until the child is no longer subject to the kiddie tax.