The Trump administration launched an app for managing child investment accounts Thursday, according to Treasury Department officials, which will start being seeded with $1,000 from the federal government July 4.
Nearly 6 million children have been signed up for the accounts, officially dubbed “Trump accounts,” which were created through the Republican tax-and-spending law last summer.
The program “is the most important government benefit for young people since the GI Bill,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday. “It will place the American Dream into the palms of the hands of parents and children.”
The government will begin activating the accounts over the next few weeks, but parents can’t begin contributing to the funds until they officially launch July 4.
The app is available in the Apple and Google app stores and will be the primary way parents can access and manage the accounts, Treasury officials said. It also includes eight financial literacy modules for families.
BNY and Robinhood built the platform with the National Design Studio, a White House office aiming to update the federal government’s web portals.
Children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, are eligible for the accounts, which are a type of traditional IRA that allows for investments in index funds.
They must be U.S. citizens and have valid Social Security numbers. The account would receive a one-time federal contribution of $1,000. Children born before Jan. 1, 2025, but who are not yet 18 years old can also open accounts, but they would not receive the federal seed money.
In addition to the federal seed money, any adult can contribute to the accounts up to a $5,000 annual cap.
Employers can also contribute to their employees’ children’s accounts up to $2,500 per year per employee, as part of the $5,000 annual limit.
But states, local governments and nonprofit organizations can also contribute to the accounts, and doing so does not count toward the annual cap.
Under the program, children own the accounts, but parents are the custodians until the child turns 18. Withdrawals are taxable until the child reaches retirement age, unless the beneficiary is using the money for education, a first-time home purchase, birth or adoption costs, or medical expenses.
Parents who have not yet signed up for an account can do so at TrumpAccounts.gov.
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