Treasury opened a new funding route for the Trump account: employers can contribute up to $2,500 tax-free a year for employees’ dependents, and workers can route pre-tax dollars through an employer cafeteria plan. For families with children under 18, the account can now pick up money from payroll and a company benefit instead of only outside deposits. Treasury is trying to make the accounts easier to fill while companies decide whether to add the match.
Scott Bessent on Trump Accounts
“Treasury is publishing guidance that will help families grow Trump Accounts by allowing employers to contribute up to $2,500 tax-free each year for employees’ dependents and giving employees the option to contribute pre-tax dollars directly to those accounts,” Scott Bessent said. The Treasury secretary said the accounts help individuals build wealth from day one, and the program already has about 7 million accounts set up after its July 4, 2026 launch.
$1000 in seed funding went into a segment of the youth population first, then parents took control until the child turned 18. At that point, the account can function like a traditional IRA, which turns the account from a child-focused vehicle into a long-term savings wrapper that can stay invested instead of being cashed out and forgotten. For families, the practical change now is that a workplace benefit can sit beside that initial government deposit.
Chime, Franklin Templeton, Kraken
More than 50 companies have already committed to contribute to Trump Accounts for their employees. Chris Britt said Chime is proud to be among the first companies to offer an employee match, while Jenny Johnson said Franklin Templeton is matching the government’s contribution to Trump Accounts for eligible children of its US employees. That gives workers at participating companies a second source of funding without having to change the basic account setup.
Arjun Sethi said Kraken committed to sponsoring a Trump Account for every child born in Wyoming in 2026, but crypto is not an option for Trump Accounts as of yet. The clash is plain: the exchange wants to back the program, but the account itself does not take digital assets today, so the benefit has to be delivered in the account’s existing structure rather than through crypto exposure. Parents who want the workplace match will need their employer to opt in; the guidance opens the door, but the benefit depends on which companies choose to use it.
The Working Families Tax Cuts also allow employees to make pre-tax contributions through an employer cafeteria plan to their dependents’ Trump Accounts, widening the route from pure after-tax saving to payroll-based contributions. If more employers adopt the option, the account becomes less dependent on one-time gifts and more tied to regular pay cycles — the part of the system workers already use for health and retirement benefits.
