By Jonathan Ping, originally published at My Money Blog.
A Trump Account (aka 530A Account, or 530 IRA) is a new type of retirement investment account for children. They offer tax-deferred growth, but you don’t get a tax break upon contribution. Funds generally cannot be withdrawn until the child reaches age 18, whereupon it converts into a traditional IRA with penalties on most withdrawals until age 59.5. Unlike other IRAs, no earned income is required. Beyond parental contributions, there are various ways to receive contributions from the government and outside donors (including employers and nonprofits). The combined annual contribution limit for individuals and employers is $5,000 per child in 2026 (government and outside donors don’t count towards the limit).
Sources for this post are here, here, here, here, and here. My personal takeaway is that they are two main scenarios where you should open an account.
Scenario #1: If you are eligible for free money, you should take action and open an account.
- Enrollment is not automatic. However, once you open an account, even with $0, outside contributions can arrive directly into your account. There are no annual account fees, so I see no reason not to take the money and let it grow over time until it becomes part of your child’s IRA balance. Your money will be invested in an S&P 500 index ETF (ticker SPYM) and you will need to use an app with BNY and Robinhood software handling the backend.
- Download the official app. You need to file IRA Form 4547. Practically, you can do everything on the app found at the official site TrumpAccounts.gov. You could also wait until when you file your taxes or through the IRS website.
- $1,000 Federal-level contribution for young kids and newborns. U.S. citizens born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, qualify for a one-time federal contribution of $1,000. The money arrives automatically after you open an account.
- $250 Dell Foundation contribution (~75% of rest of kids under age 10). U.S. citizens born between 2016 and 2024 who live in ZIP codes where the median income is $150,000 or less qualify for $250 from the Dell Foundation. This ends up including ~75% of all kids in that age range. Limited to the first 25 million kids who open an account. Here is an eligibility tool. The money arrives automatically after you open an account.
- Employer Contributions and/or Matching (Up to $2,500/year). Check with your employer, and look out for new commitments, especially if its a big corporation.
- State-level Contributions. This list is also growing.
- Things appear to be changing constantly, including Visa stating they want to enable the ability to redirect your credit card rewards to Trump Accounts.
Scenario #2: If you are already financially set for your own retirement and your children’s educational goals.
- In general, I take the philosophy that you should worry about your own retirement needs first. If you aren’t very confident you can fund your own retirement, why are you worrying about your kids? This by itself removes the majority of US families.
- After that, 529 accounts are most likely a better way to save money towards your child’s education. There are tax breaks on contributions in many states, there are more investment options, and the money can be withdrawn tax-free for eligible educational expenses. Even if you over-contribute, you can also now convert up to $35,000 in excess to Roth IRAs.
- For those financially set enough that they still want to help fund their kids’ retirement beyond that, then this works like a non-deductible IRA contribution to your kids’ retirement. You have to put in after-tax money, it grows tax-deferred, but when it turns into a Traditional IRA at age 18, your kids will owe tax on all capital gains upon withdrawal (taxed as ordinary income).
- Given that your kids will probably be an a relatively low tax bracket at age 18, this may be a good time to convert from Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, assuming that is still allowed in the future. Boom, your kid could turn 21 with a six-figure Roth IRA.
- I figure the folks that are rich enough for this will often be the same folks that were previously funding their kids’ Roth IRA by trying to count their chores or other household tasks as “earning income”. This account isn’t as good as a Roth IRA, but it’s a lot easier to fund.
I was surprised to find out that roughly 75% of children aged 10 and under qualify for the “low-income restricted” Dell $250 contribution, and indeed my zip code was eligible and the $250 has already arrived in my child’s account.
Jonathan Ping writes at My Money Blog. Read this article on their site.
