Four million American children now have investment accounts courtesy of the Trump administration. Over one million families have already elected to receive the $1,000 government seed contribution. And contributions from parents, grandparents, and employers can start flowing on July 4th.
Happy Independence Day. Also, your kid just got a retirement account before they got their first tooth.
IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano made the announcement on March 31st: the Trump Accounts program — officially called “Invest America accounts” under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed last July — has enrolled over 4 million children since its launch. The program gives every American child born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028 a tax-deferred investment account. Families check a box on their tax return. That’s it. Check a box, and your newborn has a brokerage account.
The $1,000 seed contribution comes from the government for eligible children. Parents, relatives, and friends can contribute up to $5,000 per year. Employers can chip in up to $2,500 annually, which counts toward that $5,000 cap. The contribution limits are indexed to inflation starting after 2027.
The money goes into mutual funds or exchange-traded funds that track stock indexes composed mainly of American companies. American companies. Not some globalist ESG fund that invests in Chinese solar panels and European carbon credits. American companies whose futures contracts are traded on American exchanges.
The accounts are tax-deferred. The funds are locked until the child turns 18. After that, withdrawals are allowed for tuition, buying a home, or starting a business. Three things that actually build a life — not three things that fund a sociology degree and a studio apartment.
Chairman Jason Smith put it plainly: “Americans’ lives are going to be affected in such a positive way for generations.” He’s right. Run the math. A $1,000 seed contribution plus $5,000 per year for 18 years, invested in an index fund averaging 8% annual returns, puts a kid somewhere north of $200,000 by the time they’re old enough to vote. Two hundred grand. Before their first real job.
Democrats — who spent four years telling us the government should control more of the economy — are suddenly worried about giving children investment accounts. The NYU Tax Law Center flagged the program because equity investments are “high-risk.” High-risk! The S&P 500 has returned an average of 10% annually since 1926. A hundred years of data, and NYU thinks your baby’s index fund is dangerous. These are the same people who thought $6 trillion in COVID spending was “necessary” and “targeted.”
The Left’s real problem isn’t risk. It’s ownership. Four million children with investment accounts are four million future adults who understand that wealth comes from markets, not from government programs. Four million kids who’ll check their portfolio before they check their government benefits. Four million voters who might — just might — ask why the capital gains tax exists at all.
California, naturally, has already found a way to rain on the parade. The state taxes earnings on Trump Accounts at the state level despite the federal tax deferral. Because of course California does. The state that can’t keep its lights on or its forests from burning wants a cut of your toddler’s index fund gains. Stay classy, Sacramento.
State Street flagged “compliance monitoring and withdrawal enforcement challenges.” Translation: they’re worried the government might actually have to run a program competently. Fair concern. But the beautiful part of this program is that once the money is in a market index fund, the government doesn’t have to do much. The market does the work. Which is exactly why Washington hates it.
The last time a president created a program that built personal wealth for millions of Americans through markets, it was George W. Bush’s push for Social Security private accounts in 2005. That one got killed by Democrats and nervous Republicans before it ever launched. Trump actually got it done. Signed it into law. Four million kids enrolled in under a year. And on July 4th, contributions start flowing.
Before this is over, the enrollment number will be north of 10 million. Every parent of a newborn will check that box. And twenty years from now, an entire generation of Americans will have entered adulthood with a six-figure nest egg and a very clear understanding of who made it possible.
The scoreboard doesn’t lie. Four million accounts. One million seed contributions claimed. July 4th launch for annual contributions. And the only people opposed are academics who think index funds are “high-risk” and a state government that wants to tax babies.
We’re winning. And the kids don’t even know it yet.
