Utilizing a “check-the-box” opt-in mechanism to initiate federally funded Trump Accounts for children is likely to leave out millions of qualifying families — and jeopardize the initiative’s objective to foster lifelong asset development, reveals a recent policy brief from the Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis.

Scheduled to commence later this year, Trump Accounts will grant every U.S. child with a Social Security number born between January 2025 and December 2028 a one-time $1,000 contribution. The Treasury Department is contemplating a requirement for parents to actively “check a box” on their federal tax filings to permit the establishment of these accounts.

Nonetheless, research indicates that this strategy is ineffective, as noted by the brief’s co-authors. Extensive behavioral studies demonstrate that opt-in systems frequently underperform, reaching participation rates significantly below 60% — in stark contrast to nearly universal engagement seen in automatic opt-out enrollment models.

“The influence of the default setting is evident: if the default is ‘no account unless action is taken,’ many families will miss out — often those who could benefit the most,” stated Michael Sherraden, the George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor and a co-author. “If the default is ‘every child receives an account unless a parent opts out,’ participation will be nearly universal.”

Sherraden serves as the co-principal investigator for the ongoing SEED for Oklahoma Kids project, the first randomized controlled trial of child development accounts in the U.S.

The brief provides two real-world illustrations:

• Rhode Island’s CollegeBound baby initiative provided $100 to newborns whose parents checked a box on a birth registration form. Despite the minimal effort involved, only 52%–55% of families signed up.
• The Refund to Savings program tested tax-time checkboxes to promote saving refunds. Even with targeted encouragement, participation increases were modest — only a few percentage points at most.

In contrast, the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment employed automatic enrollment with an opt-out option and achieved a 99.9% participation rate, with all accounts remaining active 18 years later.

Sherraden and his co-authors advocate for substituting any opt-in checkbox with an opt-out approach. In essence, automatically establish a Trump Account for every eligible child unless a parent explicitly declines.

The co-authors of the brief include Jin Huang, the Irving Louis Horowitz Professor in Social Policy at the Brown School and associate director for research at 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 at the CSD.

The post Opt-in enrollment could undermine Trump Accounts’ policy goals first appeared on The Source.