By Abraham Kirby-Galen, Personal CFO at Single Point Partners
If you had asked me a few weeks ago whether it was worth opening a Trump Account for a minor child, my answer likely would have led to a broader conversation about your goals for supporting your child/children financially. In most cases, that conversation would probably have ended with a recommendation for a different type of savings vehicle.
While those fundamentals haven’t changed, a recent Treasury Department policy change has shifted my thinking. As a result, I now encourage every parent with children under 18 to claim their child’s Trump Account.
As a refresher, Trump Accounts are similar to IRAs, with two important limitations: contributions are not tax-deductible, and distributions generally are not allowed before the child turns 18 (referred to as the “growth period”). Once a child reaches age 18, the account can be distributed (subject to taxes and penalties on earnings), rolled into an IRA, or potentially converted to a Roth account, although we are still awaiting final IRS and Treasury Department guidance on that option.
Children born between 2025 and 2028 are eligible for a $1,000 government “pilot” contribution. In addition, children born between 2016 and 2024 who live in an eligible ZIP code can receive an additional $250 contribution from the Dell Foundation. You can check ZIP code eligibility here: Did Your Child Receive the Dell’s $250 Contribution?
Several other private foundations have announced additional pilot contributions for eligible children in Connecticut and Indiana.
Previously, Trump Accounts operated under an opt-in system: parents could file Form 4547 with the IRS to register their child and then establish the account through BNY Mellon at: https://trumpaccounts.gov/ or through the Trump Accounts app for iOS and Android.
That changed on October 1, 2026 when the Treasury Department announced that all children currently in the growth period (under age 18) would be automatically enrolled in Trump Accounts, with no option to opt out. Enrollment is based on Social Security and date-of-birth information obtained from the Social Security Administration.
Because the Social Security Administration does not have connected contact information for parents and guardians, families must proactively claim these accounts to take control of them. To do so, parents can create a profile at https://trumpaccount.com/ (the .com domain here is intentional: this singular-domain website is separate from the plural .gov site).
The most obvious reason to claim a Trump Account is to receive any existing or future automatic contributions. However, even if your child’s account is not currently eligible for a pilot contribution and has a zero-dollar balance, I would still recommend claiming it. The reason is simple: unclaimed accounts can create opportunities for misuse. For example, it is theoretically possible for someone using stolen personal information to falsely claim guardianship of a child and gain access to any current or future contributions made to that account.
This isn’t unique to Trump Accounts. Any unclaimed or unmonitored financial account can present a security risk. With the introduction of automatic enrollment, claiming your child’s account is simply good financial hygiene and can help prevent potential issues down the road.
Because Trump Accounts are currently held exclusively at BNY Mellon, Single Point cannot open or custodian Trump Accounts through Fidelity. That said, we’re happy to help guide families through the claiming process. If you have any questions, please reach out to your PCFO or contact us at connect@spcfo.com.
More information on Trump Accounts and how to open one can be found in this blog post written by Ben Henry-Moreland.
