Your child could soon have a ‘Trump account’ even if you never signed them up

The U.S. Treasury Department will soon begin automatically enrolling children in “Trump accounts,” which could cause the ranks of those enrolled to grow nearly tenfold. Though parents previously had to submit an IRS form to open this new type of tax-advantaged investment account, Treasury released temporary regulations on Tuesday that would permit automatic enrollment. Beginning as soon as Thursday, any child who satisfies the age and Social Security requirements to be eligible for a Trump account, and who doesn’t already have one, will be automatically enrolled. As a result of the changes, the number of children enrolled in these accounts (formally known as 530A accounts after the enabling section of the Internal Revenue Code) will swell by more than 60 million in 2026 alone, according to the temporary regulations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent teased that auto enrollment was coming when he spoke at a hearing earlier this month held by the House Financial Services Committee. Even though anyone born after January 1, 2025, was already eligible for a one-time $1,000 deposit from the Treasury, enrollment in these accounts has been fairly lackluster. Of the 73 million children the …