Learn More About Trump Accounts & Gold IRAs

• Trump accounts are tax-deferred savings accounts for US children that allow parents, guardians, and employers to contribute up to $5,000 annually using after-tax dollars.
• Initial asset choices are limited to certain index funds, but once beneficiaries turn 18, they can roll their Trump accounts into a Traditional or Roth IRA, opening up more asset options.
• With up to 18 years of tax-deferred growth, Trump accounts can help American youth build long-term wealth that can eventually be rolled over into other assets such as a gold IRA.

Trump accounts have been in the news recently, as they officially opened up for contributions on July 4, 2026. These accounts allow parents or guardians to contribute money to their children’s futures in a tax-deferred manner.

While the asset options in Trump accounts are limited, once a child turns 18 and takes control of the account, he or she has the option of rolling over those funds into another IRA account. This could allow the young adult owners of those Trump accounts to use their funds to acquire a broader variety of assets, including rolling over those assets into a gold IRA.

Trump accounts could end up being a very powerful vehicle for parents and grandparents to help give their children and grandchildren a leg up when it comes to saving money and building wealth for the future.

What Are Trump Accounts?

Trump accounts, or 530A accounts, are a new type of savings account that enables parents or guardians to begin saving money for their children in a tax-deferred manner as soon as they are born. These accounts are similar in a way to IRA accounts, only that they don’t require a child to have earned income in order to open one.

Trump accounts also are funded through post-tax dollars, like a Roth IRA, although they will require distributions to be taxed at income tax rates, like a Traditional IRA. That makes them, in a way, a kind of hybrid IRA-type account.

Trump accounts have been compared by some commentators to 529 accounts, which are savings accounts that are supposed to be used to help fund educational expenses. And if the goal is solely to save money for educational purposes, many commentators have stated their preference for 529 accounts as a savings vehicle vs. Trump accounts.

But here are some of the key differences between 529 and Trump Accounts

Key Characteristics	Trump Account (530A)	529 Account
Annual Contribution Limit	$5,000 per child Charities, non-profits, and government entities can contribute additional funds that don’t count against the $5,000 limit	No annual limit, but contributions above $19,000 ($38,000 for married couples) may be subject to gift tax Individual states have aggregate lifetime contribution limits
Who Can Contribute?	Parents, legal guardians, family members, and friends Employers can contribute up to $2,500 per year, which counts against the $5,000 limit Charities and non-profit organizations Governments and government entities	Anyone, including parents, family and friends, even if they aren’t US citizens
Are Contributions Tax-Deductible?	Personal contributions are not tax-deductible Employer contributions are excluded from an employee’s income rather than being treated as a tax deduction	Contributions are not tax-deductible on federal tax returns More than 30 states offer state income tax breaks on contributions
Asset Choices	Limited to low-cost index funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track US equity indices At launch the only asset option was SPYM, but eventually participants will be able to choose IVV, VTI, SPTM, and ITOT	Pre-arranged state-sponsored plans generally allow mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, bonds, or cash equivalents Asset choices can only be changed 2 times a year
Are Rollovers Allowed?	No rollovers before the beneficiary turns 18, except to an ABLE account for disabled individuals All funds can be rolled over once the account beneficiary turns 18	Funds can be rolled over into another 529 plan Up to $35,000 can be rolled over into a Roth IRA for the original beneficiary, subject to certain additional requirements regarding age, income, and holding period

How Does a Trump Account Work?

Here are some of the most important characteristics of Trump accounts.

Eligibility	Any US citizen with a valid Social Security number under the age of 18 is eligible to have a Trump account.
Ownership	Trump accounts are opened and managed by parents and guardians. Once the child turns 18, he or she gains full control of the account.
Free Seed Money	Children born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028 receive $1,000 in free seed money from the federal government. Children born between 2016 and 2024 who are not eligible for the $1,000 in federal seed money and who live in certain ZIP codes are eligible for a $250 grant from the Dell Foundation, but this offer is only good for the first 25 million eligible activated accounts.
Annual Contribution Limits	Total combined contributions from individuals and employers are $5,000 per year. Employers can contribute up to $2,500 per year of that $5,000 limit. Contributions from governments and non-profit organizations have no limits.
Tax Treatment	Contributions to Trump accounts are made with after-tax dollars and are not tax-deductible. Earnings grow tax-free, and withdrawals are taxed at ordinary income tax rates, as with a Traditional IRA.
Asset Restrictions	Funds in a Trump account must be held in index funds or exchange-traded funds that track broad US equity indices
Withdrawal Restrictions	Trump account funds may not be withdrawn until the year the child turns 18.

What Happens to a Trump Account When My Child Turns 18?

Beneficiaries of Trump accounts take control of their account once they turn 18. At that point they can either leave the funds in a Trump account, roll the funds into a Traditional IRA, or perform a Roth IRA conversion.

Some financial analysts have highlighted the ability to perform a Roth IRA conversion as one highlight of Trump accounts, as these would come at a time when income, and therefore taxes, are low, although there are “kiddie tax” considerations to take into account.

A successful Roth conversion at age 18 could help start off a Roth IRA with minimal tax hit, meaning that the 18-year-old could start off a Roth IRA with a sizable starting sum and then continue to grow those assets for over four decades more until retirement.

Even if those funds are held in a Traditional IRA, in which distributions are taxed, the amount of money that could be built up is staggering. According to the government’s official Trump account page, starting off with $1,000 at account opening and contributing $250 a year could result in $878,000 in savings by age 55.

Contributing the maximum $5,000 per year could result in $13 million in savings by age 55. Of course, these are assumptions based on historical S&P 500 performance, and real results may vary.

Nevertheless, they highlight the importance of starting early and maximizing time in the markets when it comes to building up retirement savings. As anyone who started saving for retirement late well knows, there’s no substitute for time.

Compounding interest is the eighth wonder of the world, and it can be a vitally important part of building up retirement savings. The longer interest can compound, the more savings you could build up.

With Trump accounts, American children now have the ability to add an extra 18 years to their ability to grow tax-deferred retirement savings. That also allows them the ability to expand their asset choices once they’re 18, which could include rolling over some of their funds into a gold IRA.

What Is a Gold IRA?

A gold IRA is a type of self-directed IRA that allows you to own physical gold while still enjoying the tax advantages of an IRA account. Gold IRAs are administered by custodians who specialize in managing precious metals assets.

Gold IRAs can be funded through tax-free rollovers from existing retirement accounts such as 401(k), 403(b), TSP, and IRA accounts. When you decide to take a distribution from a gold IRA, you can either take it as an in-kind distribution as physical gold, or as a cash payment.

Setting Up a Gold IRA for Your Heirs

Most informational material about gold IRAs talks up the advantages gold IRAs can bring in safeguarding your retirement savings. With gold remaining a popular safe haven asset and inflation hedge, gold IRAs can be used to help protect retirement savings through rollovers of funds from existing retirement accounts into a gold IRA.

But what if you want to start a gold IRA not for your own retirement savings but for your heirs, your children and grandchildren? After all, gold prices have increased more than 16-fold in the past 25 years and hit record highs in early 2026.

Could gold continue this pace of price growth over the next 25 years? And if it could, wouldn’t you want your children or grandchildren to benefit from that potential price growth?

Inherited IRAs are a thing, but there are rules that have to be followed once they’re inherited. That can make it complicated to set one up, but not entirely out of the question.

This is why, if this is a route you choose to take, you’ll want to consult with your financial advisor and tax advisor before setting up an IRA that’s intended primarily for your heirs, to make sure that your actions in setting up such an IRA actually serve your intentions.

Inherited Roth IRAs, for instance, generally have to be in existence for at least five years before beneficiaries can start withdrawing tax-free qualified distributions. And inherited IRAs in general have to have all funds withdrawn within 10 years, with some exceptions for spouses, minor children, etc.

But imagine setting up a Roth gold IRA with an IRA rollover, placing gold in it, and watching it accumulate for decades, giving your heirs the opportunity for tax-free income decades down the road.

Gold IRA rollovers and Roth IRAs have only been in existence since 1997, so imagine that $50,000 had been rolled over into a Roth gold IRA on January 1, 1998. That gold today would be worth over $750,000. And every single penny could be withdrawn tax-free through qualified distributions.

That’s the power that comes from the decades-long asset growth that gold has experienced, along with the unique tax-deferred treatment of IRA accounts. All of that could be put to use building up wealth not only for yourself, but for generations to come.

Of course, it takes some planning and foresight, working with a trusted financial advisor or tax advisor, and working with experienced precious metals professionals who have helped other people in your shoes benefit from placing precious metals into a gold IRA.

Working With a Trusted Partner Like Goldco

Goldco has worked hard for years to help thousands of Americans benefit from owning gold. Gold can be a powerful safe haven asset and inflation hedge for Americans of any age.

Whether you want to set up a gold IRA for yourself to help protect your retirement savings, or if you want to set up a gold IRA to help provide wealth to your family in the future, Goldco can help you navigate the gold IRA setup and purchase process.

With over $3 billion in precious metals placements and over 8,000 5-star reviews, Goldco has worked hard to make itself one of the best gold IRA companies in the country. Our commitment to quality gold and silver products and white glove customer service makes Goldco the gold standard by which to judge other companies.

If you want to learn more about how gold IRAs work, or even just purchase some physical gold to store at home, call Goldco today to talk to one of our precious metals specialists.