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Thanks to newly available Trump Accounts, military families can lay the foundation to ensure each of their children has a head start on a rock-solid retirement plan, decades before they have jobs.
First announced in conjunction with last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the tax-deferred Trump Account allows parents to set up a special retirement account for each of their children under 18 and start investing in it.
As a bonus, for those children born from Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2028, the Treasury Department will seed newly created Trump Accounts with $1,000.
Additional contributions into the accounts — by parents, family, friends, employers and by the children themselves — will mean that by the time they retire, decades of compound interest and earnings from investments made early on will have grown into a sizable nest egg to aid in retirement planning.
"This is a pro-family initiative that will help millions of Americans harness the strength of our economy to lift up the next generation," President Donald J. Trump said of the accounts. "And they'll really be getting a big jump on life."
While not all children will be eligible for the one-time $1,000 in seed money, every Trump Account holder will have a lead in future financial security.
"A Trump Account is like a massive financial head start for kids," said Susan E. Mitchell, executive director of the Armed Forces Tax Council. "The goal is pretty simple: it's long-term tax-advantaged wealth building for kids."
The program, Mitchell said, opens for financial contributions on July 4, which is also the date parents can sign up for the accounts.
There are other kinds of financial plans to strengthen a child's financial future. Mitchell cited 529 plans as an example, meant to save for higher education costs. But those plans, she said, are almost entirely administered by individual states, which means that when military families move to a new state, as a result of a permanent change of station, rules related to their 529 plan might change. That will not happen with a Trump Account.
"Military life is inherently transient," Mitchell said. "Because these Trump Accounts are purely federal, they're completely portable. It doesn't matter whether you're stationed at Fort [Bragg], Ramstein Air Base or Camp Pendleton, California, the rules stay exactly the same."
Once a Trump Account is open, parents, family and friends can make tax-deferred contributions to the account whenever they want. Up to $5,000 can be deposited into the account each year, and Mitchell said that after 2028, the $5,000 limit will be indexed to inflation so that the contribution limit will increase.
"The contribution power won't shrink over time," she said. "And those funds are invested in fairly safe, low-cost U.S. stock market index funds ... like the S&P 500. It just compounds in the background ... during those 18 years, or however long, when your child grows up."
According to the program's website, if a family opens a Trump Account for their newborn, receives the $1,000 initial deposit, and adds no additional funds to the account, the account will grow to about $6,000 by the time that child is 18, and to $243,000 by the time that child turns 55. With just a small annual contribution — about $250 — an account owner would instead see about $878,000 at retirement.
Those who contribute the maximum could potentially see millions in their accounts by the time they are ready to retire.
The kind of investing the Trump Account enables is not new; financial planning has long been commonplace among those with money to invest and the knowledge to do so.
While federal seed money is available only for children born between 2025 and 2028, Mitchell said seed private-sector money is also an option. Employers can contribute toward the Trump Accounts of their employees' children. A private company can contribute up to $2,500 per employee annually.
A Trump Account will transition into a traditional individual retirement account on Jan. 1 of the year the holder turns 18. After that, the holder can add money to the account from their earnings.
While it's possible to withdraw money under certain circumstances, Mitchell said that's not the goal.
"The ultimate intent is for them to leave the bulk of [those funds] invested so that they have just a massive nest egg by the time they hit retirement," she said.
To learn more or to download the registration form, visit trumpaccounts.gov.
