WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said eligible children will begin being automatically enrolled in "Trump Accounts," the tax-deferred investment accounts created for kids born between 2025 and 2028, in a policy shift designed to fix dismally low voluntary sign-up rates.

The change, which takes effect Wednesday, could add more than 60 million children to the program in 2026 alone, according to Treasury guidance cited by CNBC. In future years, officials expect auto-enrollment to add roughly 2 million new accounts annually as babies are born.

Why the Switch

Each account can include a one-time $1,000 deposit from the federal government. But signing up had required families to actively opt in — filing IRS Form 4547 with their tax return or registering through TrumpAccounts.gov — and CBS News reported that participation, especially among lower-income families, lagged badly as a result. As of this summer, signups totaled just over 6 million, a fraction of the children eligible.

Under the new rules, the government will instead use tax returns and other records to enroll eligible children automatically, unless families opt out. Public commenters who weighed in on the proposed rule told Treasury that requiring an affirmative election was suppressing participation, particularly among non-filers.

The timing comes as the program's architect, Luke Pettit, is leaving Treasury for the private sector, a departure Axios reported was unrelated to the policy change. Treasury officials say the accounts' underlying investment menu — largely low-cost index funds — remains unchanged, and families who prefer to manage contributions themselves can still do so once a child is auto-enrolled.