Some Minnesota companies are investing in new savings plans for their employees’ children called Trump Accounts, which have received bipartisan support despite their name.

Since July 4, employers have had the option to invest up to $2,500 in the accounts intended to help children start saving for future expenses like college, homebuying and retirement.

The money is invested in eligible mutual funds, such as one that tracks the S&P 500 stock market index, and can be withdrawn, with limitations, when the child turns 18.

The U.S. treasury is contributing a one-time credit of $1,000 to the accounts of each U.S. citizen born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, when a guardian opens their account.

Delta Air Lines and Wells Fargo, which together employ more than 17,000 people in Minnesota, have committed to matching the federal government’s $1,000-per-child investments.

Pivot Bio, a maker of a fertilizer alternative that recently relocated to Minnesota, will also match the federal funds. But the ag firm has also forged a new grant program to provide its farmer-customers up to $5,000 dollars next year in hopes that they invest the funds into their children’s Trump Accounts.

Pivot plans to spend $2 million dollars on the employee accounts and the grants in 2027.

Pivot Bio CEO Chris Abbott acknowledged that the conversation around a program dubbed Trump Accounts “can be political,” but he’s hoping to see widespread adoption. Some Democratic-led states such as Colorado and Hawaii have endorsed the program, announcing plans to open accounts for foster children.

“Can we all agree that investing in our rural communities and the next generation is smart for the ag industry and for our country at large?” Abbott said in an interview. “That’s what we’re trying to do here. I don’t care what they’re called.”

Gov. Tim Walz’s spokesman did not respond to multiple requests inquiring about the administration’s stance on the program.

Employers may perceive companies’ support of Trump Accounts as a way to remain in the “good graces of the administration,” but the accounts also provide another tool to attract employees searching for strong benefits, said Dorian Smith, a partner at the law and policy group of Mercer, a financial services firm.

“For people who have children that were born in 2025 through 2028, why wouldn’t someone raise their hand and [say], ‘Sure, I will take that free $1,000 from the federal government. If my employer happens to match it in some manner, even better,’” Smith said.

Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act created the accounts, and enrollment began on July 4. The accounts convert into a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) at age 18, allowing up to $5,000 in annual contributions from anyone.

Employers, nonprofits as well as state and local governments can make tax-free contributions, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Families generally can’t take money out until the child turns 18. Between the ages of 18 and 59½, the accounts are treated like a traditional IRA for tax purposes.

But unlike an IRA, Trump Accounts forgo tax penalties for withdrawals if the money is used for higher education, a $10,000 home down payment, the birth of a child or some emergencies as the account-holder moves through adulthood.

Madeline Brown, a senior policy associate at the nonprofit Urban Institute, said the program has received bipartisan support and follows a history of governments creating similar child savings programs.

But Brown said there are some elements of the program that differ from what many researchers consider best practices.

She said the program does not automatically enroll children, meaning some eligible kids may not access the $1,000 in government seed money if a guardian does not take action.

She also noted the government seed money does not provide additional contributions for children in low-income families, which “is not going to reduce wealth inequalities, even though it may improve asset holdings for lots of kids who don’t have them.”

But Trump Accounts, she said, have expanded awareness for child-savings plans among employers who were previously less involved with these programs.

Employers are still challenged with understanding how to transmit funds to the banks managing the accounts, said Amber Salotto, a compensation and benefits tax managing director at financial service firm RSM. She expects the government to provide clarifying information in the coming months as it is “really focused on making this work.”

In a news release, Delta’s Chief People Officer Allison Ausband said its employees “have made it clear they want to take advantage of every opportunity to build a solid financial foundation for themselves and their families.”

Smith, the Mercer partner, said Pivot’s plan is the first he’s heard of that would also benefit customers’ children. Although the current rules don’t allow the company to donate directly into customers’ Trump Accounts, the company hopes farmers will use the money for them.

Pivot CEO Abbott said the idea spawned while he toured the country in the spring, speaking to customers. Farmers explained they were unsure if their children would carry on farming, saying, “Is this really what I want for them?” he recalled.

He responded: “What if they or you didn’t have to worry about their retirement?... What if I use the [Trump Account] and we invest on behalf of your kids, and through that, their retirement is covered?”

Abbott said funds in Trump Accounts, boosted by market returns, could balloon into millions of dollars by the time an individual turns 65.

The CEO said the company will make available the tax and legal work that went into creating the program to other companies.

“I hope everybody rips it off and puts their own corporate logo on it,” he said.

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(Staff writer Bill Lukitsch contributed to this report.)

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