Washington – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) submitted comments to the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department on proposed rules governing how employers can contribute to Trump accounts for their employees’ children. Many employers, including ERIC member companies, are exploring contributing to these accounts. ERIC’s comments ask the agencies to answer operational questions that could otherwise slow employer participation in the program in its first year and beyond.
Trump accounts are tax-advantaged savings accounts for children. The federal government will deposit $1,000 into each eligible child’s account born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028. Parents, relatives, and employers can contribute up to $5,000 a year combined.
Under Section 128 of the tax code, employees can receive up to $2,500 a year for their children’s accounts through a “Trump account contribution plan” without paying income tax. The $2,500 limit covers employer money and the employee’s own pre-tax deductions combined. Families can add more with after-tax dollars, up to the $5,000 annual cap. Treasury published proposed rules for these programs on August 11, 2026.
“Employers want to help the children of their employees get a head start, and many of them are exploring funding these accounts,” said Andy Banducci, ERIC’s Senior Vice President of Retirement and Compensation Policy. “But an employer can’t send money to an account it can’t readily verify, through a system that isn’t built yet, under rules that don’t make it easy to correct payroll errors. Treasury and the IRS have done good work on these rules. If the agencies settle outstanding questions and give employers some breathing room, more families will get contributions.”
ERIC’s top request is a single place for employers to send the money and verify accounts. The comments urge Treasury to make the Bank of New York (BNY), the government’s financial agent, a permanent central clearinghouse for employer contributions, and to create a way for employers to confirm an account is valid using its unique account number. ERIC also asks for clear rules for correcting payroll errors and contributions over the $2,500 and $5,000 limits.
For the first year, ERIC asks that employers be allowed to make 2026 contributions through April 15, 2027, with relief from 2026 reporting penalties and testing failures for good-faith efforts. ERIC also welcomed a clarification that lets employers test dependent care benefits based on the employees who use them.
Read ERIC’s full comments here.