The Treasury Department will automatically create Trump Accounts for up to 60 million American children starting October 1, eliminating the previous requirement that parents manually sign up for the investment program bearing the president’s name.

Auto-Enrollment Replaces Opt-In System

New temporary regulations published in the Federal Register on September 30 authorize the Treasury Secretary to establish accounts automatically using information from tax returns, Social Security Administration records, and other government databases. The previous system required parents or guardians to actively enroll their children, which Treasury officials said reduced participation particularly among families unfamiliar with tax procedures or lacking time and resources to complete the separate enrollment process.

Treasury expects the automatic enrollment to add approximately 2 million accounts per birth-year cohort. The department projects the change will generate billions of dollars in additional annual contributions as wealthy donors and other eligible contributors prefer their money reach all eligible children rather than only those whose parents opted in.

How the Program Works

The government provides a one-time $1,000 deposit for eligible children. Friends, relatives, or employers can contribute up to $5,000 annually to each account. Several wealthy donors have pledged billion-dollar commitments to fund the accounts across tens of millions of children. Families with children under 18 can still open accounts manually, though those born after certain cutoff dates will not receive the initial government contribution.

The Treasury withdrew earlier regulations that did not permit broad automatic enrollment, citing administrative challenges and concerns about protecting taxpayer information. After reviewing public comments, the department said it identified an administrable structure that allows widespread auto-enrollment while safeguarding sensitive return data.

Why Treasury Changed Course

Public commenters overwhelmingly supported automatic enrollment, arguing that eligible children should not lose opportunities for contributions or investment growth simply because no adult completed paperwork on their behalf. Treasury officials noted that stakeholders, particularly major donors, expressed strong preference for ensuring their contributions reach all children rather than depending on parental awareness of the program. The new system eliminates enrollment barriers for non-filers and families with limited engagement in tax processes, potentially expanding participation by millions of children who would otherwise remain outside the investment program.