U.S. President Donald Trump factors a finger onstage on the U.S. Treasury Division’s Trump Accounts Summit, in Washington, D.C., U.S. Jan. 28, 2026.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
The Trump administration has framed its new funding account, Trump accounts, as an early wealth-building software for youngsters — one which officers have mentioned might make your child a millionaire by their late 20s.
However monetary advisors and coverage consultants say the numbers depend upon annual contributions and funding efficiency, amongst different elements.
“As dad and mom, if we make most contributions to our kid’s Trump account, the projected worth will likely be practically $1.1 million by the point they’re 28 years outdated,” White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned Jan. 28 on the Trump Accounts Summit in Washington, D.C.
Later that day, President Donald Trump informed summit attendees that “with each modest contribution, Trump accounts ought to attain a minimum of $50,000 in worth” by age 18 and may very well be “very considerably greater than that.”
“With barely higher contributions, the standard account will develop to $100,000, $200,000 and may even develop as much as previous $300,000 per baby,” he mentioned.
Different politicians and audio system tossed out extra projections all through the occasion.
Projections ‘enormously overstate’ doubtless payoff
TrumpAccounts.gov tasks that accounts might develop to $6,000 by age 18, $15,000 by age 27 or $243,000 by age 55, assuming the preliminary $1,000 Treasury deposit and no additional contributions. This estimate is predicated on the S&P 500 historic annual common return of over 10%.
Nevertheless, these are “unduly optimistic assumptions” about future inventory market returns with out adjusting for inflation or taxes, Alan Viard, senior fellow emeritus on the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative assume tank, wrote in a Jan. 23 report.
“The administration’s projections enormously overstate the accounts’ doubtless payoff,” he wrote.
White Home spokesman Kush Desai informed CNBC in an e mail that many economists inaccurately predicted “financial disaster” below Trump.
“Economists who could not see one yr into the longer term must have the humility to confess that they most likely cannot predict 28-plus years of compound development {that a} era of American kids will take pleasure in because of Trump Accounts,” Desai mentioned.
How a lot a Trump account might develop
Math underpins account stability projections: Advisors and different consultants use compound-growth calculations, however uncertainty stays in assumptions about future returns and contributions.
“Traders ought to perceive that projections like these replicate best-case outcomes, not expectations,” mentioned licensed monetary planner Cathy Curtis of Curtis Monetary Planning in Oakland, California.
Administration estimates of Trump account development might not be practical for a lot of households, she and different advisors say.
“Projections like these are mathematically doable, however they depend on a really particular set of assumptions that deserve scrutiny,” mentioned CFP Douglas Boneparth, president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York.
To achieve seven figures by a baby’s late 20s, dad and mom would wish to max out Trump accounts for a few years whereas incomes “pretty sturdy, uninterrupted market returns,” mentioned Boneparth.
“Sadly, that’s not how most households really save,” he mentioned.
For instance, if a household began from $0 and contributed $2,500 yearly, they may have about $282,000 after 28 years, assuming they earned 9% returns yearly, primarily based on “long-term common development charges of the inventory market,” in accordance with Gloria Garcia Cisneros, a CFP and wealth supervisor at LourdMurray in Los Angeles.
Nevertheless, “year-to-year, the inventory market is up and down fairly a bit,” she mentioned.
Some market analysts say U.S. inventory market returns may very well be decrease over the subsequent decade, with estimates from six main companies starting from 3.1% to six.7% yearly, in accordance with a January report from Morningstar.
Plus, traders may have to think about any custodian charges or fund expense ratios that would cut back returns, mentioned Zach Teutsch, founder and managing companion at Values Added Monetary in Washington, D.C.
Trump accounts will put money into “broad U.S. fairness index funds,” in accordance with the Treasury, akin to mutual or exchange-traded funds, with not more than 0.1% annual charges. The precise funding choices are nonetheless unclear.
Garcia Cisneros mentioned households ought to discover numerous account choices, together with 529 faculty financial savings plans, when funding schooling objectives for his or her kids.
Boneparth, Curtis, Garcia Cisneros and Teutsch are all members of CNBC’s Monetary Advisor Council.