Parents worrying over rising costs of raising offspring could breathe easy. President Donald Trump’s new savings accounts for children are moving closer to becoming a workplace benefit, potentially giving parents another way to build long-term wealth for their children directly through their jobs.
The US Treasury Department and IRS have proposed rules that would allow employers to contribute to Trump Accounts on behalf of employees’ children, reported CNBC, while also giving workers the option of directing pretax dollars from their paychecks into the accounts.
This would push the Trump Accounts from a new government-backed savings initiative into an employer benefit — but companies will still have to decide whether they want to participate, the report by CNBC said.
Employers can add money to accounts
The proposed regulations explain when employer contributions can be excluded from an employee’s gross income. Employers could contribute up to $2,500 a year for an employee’s dependents without that amount being treated as taxable income to the worker, according to CNBC.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the new accounts are intended to give families a way to start building wealth for children from an early age.
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The latest guidance follows Treasury and IRS proposals released Monday outlining how employers can establish Trump Account programs. The rules are not yet final. They remain subject to public comment and an October hearing before the Treasury and the IRS can formally adopt them.
Who gets a Trump Account?
Trump Accounts, also known as 530A accounts, are available to US children under 18 who have Social Security numbers.
Children born between 2025 and 2028 are eligible for a one-time $1,000 contribution from the Treasury Department under a pilot program designed to encourage long-term savings. About 7 million children had been signed up so far, Bessent said at a July 27 meeting of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission.
Once an account is established, families can keep adding to it. Parents, guardians, grandparents and other contributors can collectively put in as much as $5,000 a year until the year before the child turns 18. Employers can account for up to $2,500 of that annual limit per worker.
That creates a potentially significant new channel for workplace savings: an employer could contribute directly to a worker’s child’s account, while the employee could also choose to make pretax contributions through payroll.
Companies divided over Trump Accounts
More than 50 companies had already committed to making Trump Account contributions for their employees as of Tuesday, according to the Treasury. Some companies have even offered to match the government’s $1,000 seed contribution. But corporate enthusiasm is far from universal.
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A Mercer survey of nearly 350 US employers conducted in April found that only about 4% expected to introduce a Trump Account contribution program in 2026 or 2027. About two-thirds said they had decided against making contributions, while others had not yet made up their minds. The new Treasury guidance could change that calculation.
Melissa Elbert, a partner in wealth solutions at Aon, said employers now have a clearer picture of the administrative and compliance requirements involved. She expects interest to increase as companies become more familiar with the rules.
The bigger question now is whether Trump’s signature savings initiative can move beyond government seed money and become a mainstream workplace benefit. For millions of families, the answer may depend not only on what Washington contributes — but on what their employers are willing to put in.