TREASURY SAYS 60 MILLION CHILDREN AUTO-ENROLLED IN TRUMP ACCOUNTS

More than 60 million children in the United States have been automatically enrolled in so-called Trump Accounts, the US Department of the Treasury said, according to an announcement the agency provided to a US broadcaster. The Treasury said it proposed regulations to begin the auto-enrollment process earlier in the week, and that the process had been completed days later. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said millions of children had already enrolled in the accounts before the automatic enrolment took place, and that more than 60 million further eligible children now have an account ready to be claimed. The accounts, formally known as 530A accounts, launched on 4 July and are open to any child under 18 in the US who holds a Social Security number.

According to the Treasury, children born between 2025 and 2028 may claim a one-off $1,000 contribution from the federal government under a pilot programme. Families must still actively claim an account to unlock the seed money, the agency said, meaning automatic enrolment alone does not release funds. The Treasury's temporary regulations, published this week, will also allow stock donations to be made into the accounts, which the agency said could encourage what it described as large-scale private giving. The announcement was provided exclusively to a US broadcaster before wider publication.

A separate outlet reported that parents seeking the $1,000 seed payment for their child still need to take further steps to claim it, without which the money will not be released. The Treasury has not specified a deadline by which families must claim the funds. The scale of the automatic enrolment, covering more than 60 million children, was described by the agency as a major expansion beyond those who had already signed up voluntarily since the July launch. Further details on the claims process are expected to come from the Treasury as families begin accessing the accounts.