BENEFITS DIGEST

Proposed regulations issued in August spell out how employers can make tax-free contributions to employees' Trump Accounts, beginning with a separate written plan document. Warner Norcross walks through the ground rules. Contributions are capped at $2,500 per employee per year no matter how many children an employee has, the cap counts both direct employer dollars and cafeteria-plan elections, and amounts get reported on the W-2. Employers cannot steer workers to a preferred custodian, so contributions may flow to many institutions, and the Labor Department has said these plans generally sit outside ERISA because the benefits belong to the children rather than the employees. A public hearing is set for October 15, and employers may rely on the proposal immediately.

Conference speakers argue employers can use Trump Accounts to help workers overcome hesitation about investing, positioning the accounts as an on-ramp for employees who have never participated in a workplace plan.

IFEBP walks through contribution program design under the proposed regulations, covering payroll deductions, the written plan requirement, employer contribution limits, and implementation considerations for sponsors weighing a program.

Bradley walks employers through the proposed Section 128 regulations with a decision focus, whether to sponsor a contribution program at all. One point worth the click, employers generally may rely on the proposed rules now, for plan years beginning before final regulations are issued, so drafting the written plan document can start today.

Two sets of proposed regulations address how employer-sponsored Trump Account contribution programs will operate and how account assets may be invested before a beneficiary turns 18. Seyfarth walks through the requirements, including a separate written plan document, a $2,500 per-employee cap on tax-favored Section 128 contributions, cafeteria plan elections for employee pre-tax contributions to dependents' accounts, and nondiscrimination testing that tracks the dependent care FSA rules. Contributions default to an S&P 500 index ETF with ESG index funds off the table, and open questions remain, from tracking eligible dependents to coordinating contributions across a controlled group.

TrumpIRA.gov, the website powering the new Trump IRA savings accounts, is officially live, giving families and employers their first operational look at enrollment and account details for the program.

Seyfarth reviews the IRS's latest proposed Trump Account guidance, which addresses employer contribution programs and the eligible-investment rules confining account assets to low-fee, broad-market index funds during a beneficiary's childhood.

Treasury and the IRS have issued proposed rules addressing the opening and administration of Trump Accounts, employer contribution programs, and eligible investments during a beneficiary's childhood.

Proposed regulations under section 530A would confine Trump Account investments during the growth period to unleveraged index funds that track broad U.S. equity benchmarks and charge annual fees of 0.1% or less, excluding actively managed, sector, and ESG-labeled funds. Employers contributing to the accounts bear no fiduciary duty for investment selection but should confirm contributions flow to compliant accounts. Comments are due October 20.

One of the most important features of Trump accounts is that they must be invested a certain way during the period before January 1 of the year the child turns age 18.

In Technical Release 2026-02, the DOL concluded that Section 530A accounts and employer contribution programs generally are not ERISA-covered pension plans when employers keep a neutral, administrative role. To stay outside ERISA, employers should avoid endorsing particular providers, influencing investment decisions, imposing conditions on account use beyond what the tax code requires, or receiving compensation. Verrill's takeaway is that the guidance clears a major compliance concern for employers weighing 530A contributions, while ERISA risk still turns on program design, communication, and administration.

Trump Accounts are a new tax-favored, IRA-style savings vehicle that may be established for eligible children by an authorized individual, such as a parent, legal guardian, or grandparent, and may receive federal, family, and employer contributions.

The Treasury Department recently issued proposed regulations providing long-awaited guidance on employer contributions to Trump Accounts under Internal Revenue Code Section 128.

The IRS issued a proposal outlining the acceptable investments for Trump Accounts. The proposal covers fees, foreign investments, ESG funds, and other investment management issues.

Recent Treasury guidance resolved several tax and compliance issues, but benefits advisers say administration details may shape adoption.

Treasury and the IRS proposed rules defining what a Trump Account can hold before the beneficiary turns 18: generally an unleveraged mutual fund or ETF tracking a broad U.S. equity index such as the S&P 500, charging no more than 0.1 percent in annual fees, with the trustee selecting a default fund when no election is made. The August 11 rules told employers what they may contribute; this one tells trustees what the money may sit in. Comments are due October 20, 2026.

Boutwell Fay's walkthrough of the August 11 employer-contribution proposed regulations for Trump Accounts, the third set of rules for the new accounts, with the nondiscrimination overlay plan sponsors will actually administer.

Hall Benefits Law's half-year policy roundup names four developments: the DOL's proposed safe harbor for fiduciaries selecting 401(k) investments, EBSA's shift to fewer but more participant-focused enforcement interactions, SEC moves to streamline executive compensation disclosure by company size, and EBSA's technical release that ERISA Title I generally does not apply to Trump Accounts. A mixed but useful mid-year checkpoint for benefits and executive compensation practice.

Treasury’s latest guidance answered key compliance questions, advisers say, but employers are now figuring out how to administer the new benefit.

Proposed regulations would limit investments during a child’s growth period to low-cost, non-leveraged equity index funds and ETFs, with annual fees capped at 0.1%.

Trump Accounts will help eligible children “enjoy years of compound earnings for their future college, retirement and other needs,” an IRS leader said.

Eversheds Sutherland works through the August 11 proposed regulations on Trump Account employer contribution programs and the parallel DCAP nondiscrimination rules, a law-firm companion to the consultant takes already in this run.

Segal breaks down the proposed employer-contribution rules for Trump Accounts: the cafeteria-plan interaction, the nondiscrimination testing overlay, and what benefits committees should be scoping before the rules finalize.

Thompson Hine works through the proposed regulations' answers to the open Trump Accounts questions, most significantly how salary-reduction contributions run through section 125 cafeteria plans, plus the nondiscrimination testing rules employers have been waiting on.

Bloomberg Law reports early signals that small employers will be slow to add Trump Account contributions even as the proposed rules clear a path, with practitioners pointing to an administrative load that outweighs the $2,500 draw for many.

The Slott team on the administrative requirements employers must meet to contribute to Trump accounts, and why small employers in particular may find the compliance load heavier than the $2,500 benefit suggests.

Human Resources Director's employer-facing walkthrough of the Trump Accounts proposed regulations: contribution mechanics, the nondiscrimination overlay, and what payroll teams should be scoping now.

Mayer Brown's analysis of Monday's proposed regulations: the up-to-$2,500 tax-free employer contribution to Trump Accounts, the workplace-program nondiscrimination and reporting requirements, and the first formal guidance on the 55 percent average-benefits test for dependent care assistance programs.

Starting this year, employers can contribute to an employee's or dependent's Trump account tax free, up to a combined $2,500 per year (inflation-adjusted after 2027) under a contribution program. Groom's walk-through of this week's proposed regulations.

NAPA's take on this week's proposal guiding employers on implementing a Trump Account contribution program, a third voice alongside the primary text and the Groom explainer.

The adviser-side angle on the proposed regulations: pre-tax payroll deductions similar to health savings accounts, though other vehicles may offer better benefits for some families.

NAPA's read of the Senate bill requiring the SSA to send newborn information to Treasury to create Trump Accounts, a second view of the legislation readers met Tuesday via PLANADVISER.

PLANSPONSOR's coverage of yesterday's proposed regulations: up to $2,500 in tax-free employer contributions, with nondiscrimination, reporting, and salary-reduction requirements for workplace programs.

Treasury and the IRS proposed the framework for employer Trump account contribution programs: a separate written plan, eligibility classes tested under DCAP-style nondiscrimination rules including a 90% sliding-scale safe harbor, written employee notification, and W-2 reporting, with employees able to exclude up to $2,500 per year of employer contributions. The proposal also updates the section 129 DCAP nondiscrimination rules themselves, reflecting the OBBBA's increase of the dependent care exclusion to $7,500. Employers may rely on the proposed rules now; comments are due September 25 and a public hearing is set for October 15.

The proposal aims to eliminate confusion for employers and provide a fully operating framework for those offering the federal savings plan.

The Department of Labor has issued guidance stating that most employer contributions to the newly created children's Trump Accounts, or 530A accounts, will not trigger application of ERISA. Read alongside today's proposed contribution-program regulations, the pieces of the employer framework are coming together.

Nearly 99% of parents already use the Social Security Administration's Enumeration at Birth program, according to a co-sponsor of the bill, which would establish the new investment accounts through the existing registration system.

Treasury and the IRS announced that they will propose regulations on the Saver's Match and begin implementing an Executive Order to create a federal IRA savings program for private-sector workers without coverage.

The government launches the regulatory process for SECURE 2.0’s Saver’s Match and takes a first step toward implementing the Executive Order establishing TrumpIRA.gov.

The proposal, which will clarify how employers can contribute to Trump Accounts, should be published soon.

According to the Treasury secretary, 7 million children are already enrolled, as officials highlight educational features and expanded funding options.

To avoid politics and focus solely on the numbers, we will refer to Trump accounts as “530A accounts,” so named by the section of the Internal Revenue Code enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on July 4, 2025.

Before adopting a Trump Account (OBBBA Section 530A) contribution program, Mayer Brown advises employers to benchmark it against existing benefits like dependent care FSAs and 529 plans, check whether enough employees have young dependents to benefit, and weigh administrative cost against real recruitment value.

Treasury Secretary says Monday the new program is already helping millions of families build investing knowledge.

With contributions to Trump accounts having gone live on July 4, 2026, there has been lots of discussion recently about the “kiddie tax.” That’s because, once a child reaches January 1 of the year they turn age 18, they will be able to withdraw or do a Roth conversion of accumulated Trump account funds.

Most young children should have a Trump account. But that doesn’t mean families should prioritize saving in them.

Effective July 4, 2026, employers may contribute up to $2,500 annually on a tax-free basis to “Trump Accounts,” a new tax-advantaged savings account for employees’ dependent children under age 18, which was established under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (Pub.

Today's blog shares updates on employer contributions for employees’ dependent children with Trump accounts.

Seyfarth Synopsis : The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Technical Release 2026-02, which clarifies that neither Trump Accounts nor employer contributions to Trump Accounts are considered “employee pension benefit plans” under Section 3(2) of ERISA.

The authors note that Trump Accounts generally exist outside the retirement plan framework, as neither the statute nor current guidance provides a mechanism for incorporating them into a retirement plan.

Learn how TrumpIRA.gov and the Saver’s Match could expand retirement savings access, which workers and account types may be affected, and what plan sponsors should consider in today's blog.

The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) recently issued Technical Release 2026-02, providing guidance on whether certain Trump accounts established under Section 530A of the Internal Revenue Code and the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (“Trump Accounts”) and employer contribution programs to such accounts constitute employee benefit plans subject to ERISA.

Trump Accounts launched on July 4, 2026. These special individual retirement accounts (IRAs) can help children under 18 build savings.

New federal guidance is providing greater certainty around Trump Accounts and expanded their potential application beyond simple savings.

Candidly releas es Trump Accounts guidance; OakPath launches per sonal coach ‘ Aggi ’ for retirees; and Vestmark o pens AI r esearch c enter.

Trump Accounts, a new tax-advantaged individual retirement account (IRA) intended for the benefit of minor children, were established under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 530A as part of the

On June 17, 2026, the DOL issued Technical Release 2026-02, which confirms that “Trump Accounts” and Code Section 128 Trump Account contribution programs generally will not constitute “employee

Transfer-tax safe harbor for individual donors who contribute to Trump accounts under IRC §530A. If specified conditions are met, contributions are treated as completed gifts that are not future