Administration holds summit on new Trump Accounts

On Wednesday, the Trump administration held a summit all about Trump Accounts, investment accounts for babies born during his term. The government has promised to contribute $1,000 to every American child, no matter what their family’s income is.

There was a lot of good news at the summit, said Ray Boshara, a senior policy advisor at the Aspen Institute. He works on policies to build wealth for low-income people and advised Congress and the administration on the accounts.

“Trump accounts really are kind of a historic property,” he said. “The government is saying that all newborns are eligible to receive a Trump Account. And if they're lucky enough to be born between 2025 and 2028, they'll get $1,000 from the government — no strings attached.”

One problem though, per Boshara, is that the accounts aren’t opened automatically. Families have to choose to open an account, either while filing taxes or eventually through a government portal.

“They've designed kind of an opt-in process using tax returns and portals that a lot of especially lower-income families simply won't participate in,” he said, because they don’t file taxes or might not know what the accounts are all about.

But if families do sign up, these accounts can act as wealth reservoirs, said William Elliott, a professor of social work at the University of Michigan.

“The advantage of them is that it does allow for multiple streams of assets to flow into it,” he said.

That means it allows the potential for additional contributions from philanthropy, employers, state governments, and even families themselves.