Less Than 10 Percent of Eligible Children Have Trump Accounts

Trump accounts, the investment accounts for children created in last year’s tax bill, officially open for contributions Saturday.So far, more than six million American children have been signed up, according to a Treasury Department spokeswoman — less than 10 percent of those under 18 who are eligible.Babies born during a four-year period starting Jan.

1, 2025 — effectively covering the second Trump term — will receive a $1,000 deposit from the federal government in their account.So far, only 1.4 million children in that age range have been signed up, or about one-quarter of the children born so far who qualify.The Trump administration has heralded the number of accounts opened.

Researchers who study child savings accounts said they were pleased that millions of families opened accounts, but pointed to several barriers to recruiting more families.Many don’t know about the accounts.

Some have been turned off by the name and its affiliation with President Trump.And importantly, researchers say, many more children would have accounts if they were automatically enrolled, rather than requiring parents to sign up on a tax form.The concern — shared by people across the political spectrum — is that the accounts will disproportionately be used by families who are already investing in the stock market (including on behalf of their children, like in 529 college savings plans), rather than granting access to the markets to children who otherwise wouldn’t have it.Still, despite the relatively low uptake, families across the economic spectrum have opened Trump accounts.H&R Block said it helped open more than two million accounts for its tax preparation clients this year, accounting for about a third of all accounts opened.

Thirty percent of clients with eligible children opened accounts, and the uptake was 99 percent for those qualifying for the free $1,000.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser setti...