More than 60 million children in the United States now have Trump Accounts after the Treasury Department completed automatic enrollment, but the creation of an account does not mean parents can immediately manage it. Families must complete one additional step to claim the account and unlock access to its benefits. The Treasury Department announced on October 1 that automatic enrollment had been completed. As a result, every eligible child under 18 with a valid Social Security number now has a Trump Account ready to be claimed. The program was created as a tax-advantaged investment vehicle for children and is intended to give families another way to build savings over the long term. Once an account is claimed, parents and guardians can manage it and allow eligible relatives, friends and employers to contribute. The step parents must take to claim the account Automatic enrollment does not mean the account is automatically under a parent’s control. A parent or guardian must claim the child’s Trump Account through the official Trump Accounts app. The process requires the adult to verify their identity, confirm their relationship to the child, review the child’s information and accept the applicable account terms. That distinction matters because a child may already have an account even if the family has not completed the claiming process. Until a parent or guardian claims it, they cannot manage the account or arrange contributions through it. The Treasury Department also says that an eligible child’s account must be claimed in order to receive the program’s one-time $1,000 Treasury contribution. Who qualifies for the $1,000 contribution The $1,000 government contribution is not available to every child with a Trump Account. It is part of a specific federal pilot program for eligible children who meet certain requirements. | Citizenship | The child must be a U.S. citizen | | Date of birth | The child must be born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028 | | Social Security number | The child must have a valid Social Security number | | Trump Account | The child must have an eligible Trump Account | | Pilot program election | An authorized individual must elect the $1,000 contribution | | Previous request | No previous request for a pilot program contribution can have been processed | The IRS states that the $1,000 pilot contribution does not count toward the general $5,000 annual contribution limit. Other contributions to a Trump Account, including money from family members, friends and employers, generally count toward that limit. Trump Accounts are designed for long-term investing rather than immediate household expenses. The official Trump Accounts website says the funds are automatically invested in American companies through the program’s investment options. Parents, relatives, friends, employers and certain organizations can contribute to an account, subject to the program’s rules. The general annual contribution limit is currently $5,000 per child, with some exceptions that do not count toward that limit. During the account’s growth period, withdrawals are generally restricted. Once the child turns 18, control of the account passes to the beneficiary. At that point, the beneficiary can generally continue investing the money or withdraw funds under the rules that apply to a traditional IRA.