Using a “check-the-box” opt-in process to open federally funded Trump Accounts for children likely will exclude millions of eligible families — and undermine the program’s promise to promote lifelong asset building, finds a new policy brief from the Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis.
Set to launch later this year, Trump Accounts will provide every U.S. child with a Social Security number born between January 2025 and December 2028 a one-time $1,000 deposit. The Treasury Department is considering requiring parents to actively “check a box” on their federal tax returns to authorize the accounts’ creation.
However, evidence shows that approach doesn’t work, according to the brief’s co-authors. Decades of behavioral research indicates that opt-in systems consistently fall short, achieving participation rates well below 60% — compared with near-universal participation under automatic, opt-out enrollment models.
“The power of the default is clear: if the default is ‘no account unless you act,’ many families will miss out — often those who stand to benefit most,” said Michael Sherraden, the George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor and a co-author. “If the default is ‘every child gets an account unless a parent declines,’ participation will be nearly universal.”
Sherraden is the co-principal investigator for the ongoing SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment, the first randomized controlled trial of child development accounts in the United States.
The brief offers two real-world examples:
- Rhode Island’s CollegeBound baby program offered $100 to newborns whose parents checked a box on a birth form. Despite the small effort required, only 52%–55% of families enrolled.
- The Refund to Savings initiative tested tax-time checkboxes to encourage saving refunds. Even with targeted prompts, participation gains were modest — a few percentage points at most.
By contrast, the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment used automatic enrollment with an opt-out option and achieved 99.9% participation, with all accounts still open 18 years later.
Sherraden and his co-authors recommend replacing any opt-in checkbox with an opt-out mechanism. In other words, automatically open a Trump Account for every eligible child unless a parent actively declines.
Co-authors on the brief are Jin Huang, the Irving Louis Horowitz Professor in Social Policy at the Brown School and associate director for research in the CSD; Margaret M. Clancy, CSD policy director; and Stephen Roll, an assistant professor at the Brown School and co-director of research and policy innovation with the CSD.
