Finance

Trump Accounts Add Confusion to Savings Accounts Without Adding Much Benefit

Let's simplify this system instead of making it even more complicated.

Jeremy Horpedahl | 7.13.2026 3:33 PM

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When President Donald Trump rang the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ on July 6, it wasn't to celebrate a new stock market high or the IPO of a trillion-dollar U.S. company. It was to launch the new "Trump Accounts," an investment vehicle targeted at children (and their parents). The Trump administration has made much fanfare of these accounts, which were authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and first became available this month. Are they really a good option for individuals, and for the nation as a whole?

The United States has a plethora of tax-protected accounts, some of which are intended for retirement and some of which are intended for spending on specific things, such as education or healthcare: IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, HSAs, 529 accounts, and so on. The easiest way to understand Trump Accounts is to compare them to these other types of accounts.

For Trump Accounts, withdrawals can't be made before age 18. After then, the Trump Accounts are treated the same as traditional IRAs, meaning you pay taxes on the withdrawals based on your other income taxes. That sounds like a good deal, since 18-year-olds are probably in a low income-tax........

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