Will Trump Accounts deliver for American children?

However, Andy Blocker, head of policy, regulatory and government relations at financial services firm Edward Jones, believes the $1,000 contribution for babies born during Trump's second term in office will remove a "barrier of having nothing to start with"."If by year-end more families have a clear on-ramp to begin saving and investing for their children's financial futures, that's success," he suggests.Adam Michel, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, says the idea of the scheme is admirable, but warns it might "not live up to the rhetoric".He says the main benefit is the $1,000 starting subsidy but suggests many families would be better off using existing savings accounts.He also points out barriers such as penalties for early withdrawal, as seen for other savings accounts, adding that lower-income children may feel compelled to take the money out when they turn 18 to "help make ends meet", and therefore have to pay a penalty. "Trump Accounts do not fix that problem."How many people have signed up?It is understood some six million families​ had signed up before Trump Accounts went live on 4 July, which is a fraction of the tens of millions of children who could be eligible for one.The White House said on Monday that the $1,000 subsidy for babies had been deposited into more than half a million accounts so far. About 3.6 million children were born in the US in 2025, according to provisional data.