The Treasury Department on Thursday launched an app for managing Trump Accounts, a new investment account for children in the U.S. that has sparked criticism from experts who argue the program will fail to help financially vulnerable kids.
Nearly 6 million children have signed up for the investment accounts.
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The Trump Accounts app—designed in partnership with Bank of New York Mellon and Robinhood—launched on Thursday on Apple and Google app stores, the Treasury Department announced, noting the app will be the “main interface” for the program.
The app sign-in process requires the email address used to apply for a Trump Account, a phone number and a password, after which users are reportedly met with a screen that reads, “Stay tuned for an invite.”
Trump Accounts will be rolled out in phases, according to the app, which said it will send an email invite to activate the account.
Parents and legal guardians who have already signed their children up for Trump Accounts through IRS paperwork will receive email instructions starting Thursday to complete the account setup process, the Treasury said.
Nearly 6 million. That’s how many children have signed up for Trump Accounts, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.
All U.S. children with a Social Security number and children born between 2025 and 2028 are eligible for an initial $1,000 deposit from the Treasury. Those born before 2025 do not qualify for the initial contribution. Any child 10 or under born before Jan. 1, 2025, could receive $250 if they live in a ZIP code where the median income is $150,000 or less, following a $6.25 billion pledge from billionaire Dell CEO Michael Dell and his wife, Susan. Billionaire Ray Dalio also committed to funding $250 per child for about 300,000 children in Connecticut.
The Trump Account program, or the previously named “MAGA Accounts,” was part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. Parents or legal guardians must opt into the program by filing an IRS form for a qualifying child, and other account custodians can contribute up to an additional $5,000 per child annually in post-tax funds. Any child under 18 with a Social Security number is also eligible, though they will not receive the $1,000 in seed funds. Contributions will begin on July 4, and beneficiaries can withdraw up to 50% of the account balance by age 18, with additional access at age 25 for qualified purposes, such as small business loans and higher education expenses. Full control is granted at age 30 for any use. Economic policy researchers have argued the accounts would be unable to provide funding for financially vulnerable children, including New York University’s Tax Law Center, which wrote last year the structure of the accounts is risky for children whose funds may be needed for education or a home at age 18. Jin Huang, a social policy professor at Washington University in St. Louis, warned that because the Treasury requires parents to enroll their children, tens of millions of kids may never receive benefits.
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