President Donald Trump announced Wednesday in the Oval Office that the federal government will automatically enroll roughly 70 million children under the age of 18 in tax-free investment accounts — a dramatic expansion of the Trump Accounts program that had previously required parents to opt in.
"Under this program, the U.S. government is automatically creating a tax-free investment account for every child, to grow over the course of their lives and to be used for their benefit after they turn 18," Trump said, according to PBS News, which covered the announcement. "If all goes well, and I think it will, they'll end up being quite rich."
The accounts were originally created through the Invest America Act, signed into law as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill in the summer of 2025. As of October 1, the Treasury Department shifted the program from a voluntary index-fund investment model to automatic enrollment, a move Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said will complement Social Security rather than replace it, according to prior reporting.
Gerstner: 'Every One of Those Kids Who Felt Left Out'
Also present at Wednesday's event was Brad Gerstner, founder of Altimeter and Invest America, who helped develop the Trump Accounts framework. Gerstner described the scope of the program in terms that cut across party lines.
"Every Republican district in the country, every Democrat district in the country, every state, city block, rural road; I grew up in rural Indiana. Every one of those kids who felt left out and left behind by the prosperity of America," Gerstner said, per RedState's coverage of the event.
Gerstner said the president insisted the program be built to "get everyone into the game, to share in the upside of the country," and recounted being told it couldn't be done. "They said it couldn't be done! 'You can't automatically create 70 million accounts, for every child in the country.' We persevered."
Tech billionaire Michael Dell, who has been promoting the accounts, noted that roughly 38 percent of American families and households own no stock at all. "We believe the most important investment that can be made is in our children," Dell said. "If a parent has not claimed the account for their child, they should go and claim it."
Stock Donations Added to the Mix
The program is also expanding to accept stock donations, according to reporting on the new contribution rules. That change opens the door for parents, grandparents, and outside donors to contribute appreciated securities directly into a child's account — a mechanism that carries tax advantages but also market risk, which financial outlets covering the change have flagged for families to weigh.
The Washington Post, in an opinion piece published two days before the announcement, argued that automatic enrollment would help more young people "experience the bounty of the market" — an unusual note of agreement from a paper that has rarely cheered the administration's economic agenda.
What It Means for Families
For parents, the practical change is simple: no paperwork, no sign-up window, no application. The account exists. What remains is for families to claim the account and begin contributing, with Dell and others urging parents to do exactly that.
Critics of automatic enrollment in government-administered investment vehicles have raised questions about federal control over private savings, though no specific objection was detailed in the coverage reviewed for this report. The long-term performance of the accounts will depend on market returns and contribution levels over the next 18 years.
Trump framed the expansion as the "next step" for the program — one that transforms a voluntary savings tool into a universal one, covering every child in every zip code regardless of family income.
Our Take
This is what America First economics looks like when it actually reaches the kitchen table. For decades, Democrats have talked about helping working families while building a dependency machine that traps generations in government programs. Trump just did the opposite: he set up a system that puts a piece of American enterprise into the hands of every single kid in the country — red district or blue, inner city or rural Indiana.
The Left is going to have a hard time attacking this one. How do you tell a parent in Detroit or Appalachia that their child shouldn't own a stake in the greatest economy on earth? You can't. Watch for the usual suspects to suddenly discover a passion for "market risk" now that Republicans are handing out the upside.
The real work is on us now. If your child has an account, claim it. Contribute to it. Teach your kids what compounding is before the school system teaches them that capitalism is the enemy. This program only builds wealth if families use it — and that part, no government can do for you.
