In his State of the Union address on February 24, 2026, President Trump reminded Americans to enroll their children in his administration’s new Trump Accounts—a much-anticipated government program intended to support Americans of all financial backgrounds and enhance financial literacy, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. According to CNBC, applications for as much as about three million children were filed last week. Parents can enroll their child by signing up through the dedicated government website or IRS Form 4547 when filing taxes. Corporate Insight last looked at Trump Accounts in November. More details have since emerged.
These accounts, established with the Big Beautiful Bill last year, are, at their core, tax-advantaged investment accounts called 530A accounts and similar to a traditional IRA. Contributions can be added—or not, a helpful feature for lower-income families—to the accounts. Funds will be invested in American companies through low-cost index funds to support compound growth until the children reach 18 years of age. The children whom these accounts belong to cannot access the funds until they turn 18, and they can use the funds for anything: using the funds as a retirement account starter, paying for school or buying a house, to name a few. Families of all economic backgrounds can enroll their children in these accounts and contributions are capped at $5,000 per year. The administration promises a $1,000 seed for each of the approximately 3.6 million children born in the United States each year through 2028, a sizeable investment of taxpayer and donated dollars into the new generation. Notably, philanthropists are encouraged to donate to this program. Dell CEO Michael Dell and his wife Susan made a $6.25 billion donation to supplement the Treasury’s seed.
The site also includes engaging features that can help parents consider the long-term benefits of compound savings. A dynamic Account Value section in the header increases in value as the participant scrolls through information about the program. In the Your Child’s Account Grows with Them section, participants can toggle between ages 18, 27 or 55 to compare the impact of different contribution amounts. The design positions itself as child-oriented and family-friendly through pictures of children, fun graphics as well as crayon-style accents and fonts. The website boasts a modern design accompanied by dynamic graphics and an account growth visualization, which is largely thanks to President Trump’s August 2025 Improving Our Nation Through Better Design executive order.
The site also offers a preview of a future app to assist with tracking Trump Account balances, contributions and investments, although the stocks listed contradict other released statements that the investments will only be index funds.
The question of which financial institution will act as custodian for these accounts remains up in the air, although multiple companies expressed interest including Robinhood. In a committee testimony earlier in February, Secretary Bessent shared that “[i]nitially there will be one master custodian for the accounts. So initially, these small banks will not be able to participate. Eventually the holders of the accounts will be able to migrate out to designated institutions”—the specifics of which have yet to be announced. The accounts will be available on July 5, 2026, the day after the 250th anniversary of the United States according to the website.
CI will track the implementation of these accounts and competition between investing firms for potential life-long customers as further details emerge. For more information, check out our online brokerage research services.
Rowan Kurz
Rowan Kurz is an analyst on CI's retirement and workplace finance team.