Treasury will open 60 million Trump Accounts around Oct. 1, but those accounts cannot take employer money

The Treasury Department will open a Trump Account for every eligible child who does not already have one "on or about October 1, 2026," under temporary regulations released Tuesday and scheduled for the Federal Register on Sept. 30. Treasury estimates the change adds more than 60 million accounts this year and about 2 million more for each new birth-year group after that. CNBC and the Wall Street Journal reported the move earlier on Tuesday.

The headline reads as if every child is now fully set up. The rule itself says something narrower, and it matters most to the employers who have been planning to fund these accounts.

How far opt-in had fallen short

The regulation's own impact tables show the gap auto-enrollment is meant to close. Treasury counts 73.37 million eligible children in 2026 across 44 million families. By July 30, it had processed about 5.6 million electronic sign-up forms (Form 4547), or roughly 7.6% of eligible children.

Treasury says an opt-in system would have leveled off near 50% enrollment, citing Maine's Alfond Grant program, which drew about 40% of families when parents had to check a box. With the Secretary opening the accounts, it expects close to 100%.

The part the headlines skip: an auto account is a locked box

The rule creates a distinct kind of account, the "auto account." While the child is under 18, an auto account can accept only two things: Treasury-run "qualified general contributions," which are equal deposits funded by governments or nonprofits for a whole class of children, and the $1,000 federal pilot deposit for children born from 2025 through 2028. Money from family members and from employers cannot go into it.

To receive those, a parent or guardian has to claim the auto account through Treasury's app or web page, prove legal authority over the child's finances, and activate a new "claimed" Trump Account with a trustee. The balance then rolls over. The regulation describes the claimed account as "an entirely different account" from the auto account.

That is the operational catch for business owners. Section 128 of the tax code lets an employer put up to $2,500 a year into the Trump Account of an employee or an employee's child, and that money is excluded from the employee's income. It counts toward the $5,000 annual cap. An owner who promised, say, $1,000 per child to a 12-person crew cannot send it anywhere until each family has claimed and activated an account. Opening the auto accounts does not do that step for them.

The employer rules are still in draft. The IRS proposed them on Aug. 11 and on Tuesday switched the Oct. 15 public hearing to telephone only. Those rules also cover the nondiscrimination tests that decide whether a plan can favor some employees over others.

What the money is worth, by Treasury's math

While a child is under 18, accounts must hold low-cost funds tracking a broad U.S. stock index, with no leverage and annual fees of 0.1% or less. The regulation runs $1,000 through historical stock returns for birth cohorts from 1926 to 2006. The median result at age 18 was $6,180 if invested at birth, $2,460 if invested at age 10 and $1,160 at age 17. At the 10th percentile, the birth deposit came to $2,980. Those are historical outcomes, not a projection.

Timing also matters for philanthropy. Treasury cites the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation's $6.25 billion pledge to children born from 2016 through 2024 in ZIP codes with median household income below $150,000. Automatic accounts mean that kind of gift reaches every eligible child in the class, not only children whose parents filed a form.

What to watch

• Whether the claim process through Treasury's app is running when auto accounts open around Oct. 1.
• The Oct. 15 hearing on employer contributions and whatever final Section 128 rules come out of it.
• Payroll and benefits providers adding Trump Account contributions, which only works once families hold claimed accounts.

Sources: Treasury/IRS temporary regulations, TD 10056; IRS hearing notice, REG-101355-26; CNBC. This is general information, not tax or investment advice.