One-year-old Mila Barbara Elias, pictured with her parents Mirco Elias and Elizabeth Dinnen, is eligible for a Trump Account. So is that kiddo on the loose on the right, as long as she has a Social Security number. (Photo: Steve Dinnen) By Steve Dinnen Mila Barbara Elias had a pretty good June. T he resident of Manhasset, New York, who happens to be my granddaughter, celebrated her first birthday. She twinned up the day with her baptism at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, right down the road from where her mother and father take her for spins in her carriage. And while she’s a little too young to recognize what also happened, she thirdly enjoyed the arrival (check’s in the mail) of $1,000 seed money for her new 530A Individual Retirement Account. You may know that as a “Trump Account,” a tax-advantaged investment account for children under 18. U.S. citizens born between Jan. 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, are eligible to receive a $1,000 government-funded seed deposit. They officially launched July 4. This is free money, folks (although it’s funded by taxpayers). The accounts are actually available to any child under 18 with a Social Security number, but they have to have been born during the 2025-2028 window to get the seed money. Parents, relatives, even employers, can add up to $5,000 in additional money every year. Funds will be invested in low-cost U.S. equity index funds and ETFs. Management fees are capped by law. The parent acts as the custodian. The funds generally cannot be withdrawn until the child turns 18. Then the account transitions to a traditional IRA. Owners can pull money from the account penalty-free before reaching age 59½ if they’re paying for a first home mortgage or for some higher education expenses. President Trump projected the program will put as much as $4 trillion of wealth into the hands of young Americans over the next 15 years. But take that with a grain of salt: Every child born during the next four years — an estimated 14.4 million — would have to enroll, maximize the annual add-on contributions and earn compounded annual returns of a phenomenal 39%. For reference, the SP 500 has grown at 11.8% over the last 50 years. Bombast aside, it still is free money. And for newborns, time is on their side: At 11%, an initial investment of $1,000 will grow to $524,000 in 60 years. Mila Barbara Elias and millions of other babies will learn to say “thank you.” To apply, fill out IRS Form 4547 or access the official portal at Trump Accounts. After completing the IRS form, parents can manage the account and track balances using the official Trump Accounts mobile app, available on the App Store or Google Play. ...read more read less