A Super Bowl TV ad tells parents to expect “free money” from the federal government to help their children achieve their dreams.
Invest America, a nonprofit advocacy group, created the 30-second adwhich is narrated by a group of children who say investing when they’re young can change their future.
Here’s the script, with the children trading lines: “I want to be a nurse. Go to college. Be a businesswoman. I can save for a house with a trampoline. Two trampolines. This year, every American child gets an investment account and millions will be pre-funded. That’s free money. We can all expand the American dream. Sign me up.”
The ad ends by directing people to InvestAmerica.org and “Trump Accounts.”
Promises of free money are rarely true, but in this case it’s legit.
As always, there’s fine print: Not every child is eligible for a $1,000 contribution in a new savings account from Uncle Sam.
And whether the account can provide a college education or house with multiple trampolines depends in large part on future contributions and the health of the U.S. stock market.
Here’s what else you need to know about the Super Bowl ad.
Who gets a pre-funded Trump account and how do you sign up?
Under the 2025 tax and spending law signed by President Donald Trump, babies born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, will receive $1,000 to launch the account from the U.S. Treasury. Parents could make additional deposits but aren’t required to.
Older children can have an account, too, if parents want to invest, but they won’t get the $1,000 in seed money from the government.
“For children born outside the 2025 through 2028 window, the benefit is limited,” said Adam Michel, director of tax policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. “Parents can still open an account and contribute after-tax dollars, but there is no federal government seed money.”
The government plans to launch the accounts around July 4 to coincide with the nation’s 250th anniversary. Starting then, parents will be able to open a Trump account for any child under 18 who has a Social Security number. Parents can deposit up to $5,000 a year into a fund that tracks the growth of the overall stock market. The $5,000 annual cap will eventually be indexed for inflation.
The White House said before the Super Bowl that 1 million people had already signed up in one week.
Parents can establish an account with IRS form 4547. Beginning in May, the U.S. Treasury or its designated financial agent will send information to the person who activated the account. Parents can transfer the account to their preferred brokerage firm later.
Employers can also deposit up to $2,500 per year. The employer contribution counts against the account’s $5,000 annual limit but not toward the employee’s taxable income.
Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell announced that he and his wife, Susan, will provide 25 million Trump Accounts with $250 each for children who live in ZIP codes where the median income is $150,000 or less. That adds up to $6.25 billion.
How much money could the accounts generate?
The Trump administration and its allies have told people to expect six- or seven-figure savings from Trump Accounts.
U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., said Jan. 29 that a $1,000 account would grow to $243,000 by age 55, even with no extra deposits. Trump shared similar figures.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said if parents make maximum contributions, the projected value for the child’s account would be nearly $1.1 million by age 28.
Leavitt’s number comes from a White House Council of Economic Advisers report. Michel said it is “technically correct, but misleading.”
“It assumes optimistic stock market performance, assumes parents max out their additional $5,000 account contributions each year, and is not adjusted for inflation or taxes,” Michel said.
Earning that much would also require holding the money until 2081, which many accountholders would not be able to do.
Could the accounts help buy a house or pay college tuition?
Whether the account could generate enough to buy a house or pay for college tuition depends on where the child lives, the price of the house and tuition, and whether additional contributions are made beyond the government money or the announced philanthropic gifts.
The most likely answer “is that the pilot money alone will not be enough to cover college or a down payment in the vast majority of places,” said Madeline Brown, senior policy associate at the Urban Institute, a public policy think tank.
Michel agreed that a $1,000 one-time deposit, even invested over decades, is unlikely alone to cover college tuition or a house. Depending on stock market performance and factoring in inflation and taxes, the $1,000 seed money would be worth between $8,000 and $46,000 in 55 years, he said.
“Withdrawing the money earlier reduces returns even further,” Michel said. “The accounts may help at the margin, but they are not a realistic standalone solution for major life expenses.”
Andrew Biggs, a senior fellow at the right-of-center American Enterprise Institute, said if people contributed $5,000 per year for 18 years and earned interest, “then certainly it could cover a down payment. But the house outright? Less likely.”
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