Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano Is Putting $250 Into the Trump Account of Every Child Ages 2 to 8 in the Brooklyn ZIP Code Where He Grew Up
The man who runs both Social Security and the IRS is putting his own money into the investment accounts of children in the Brooklyn neighborhood where he grew up. Frank Bisignano, through The Bisignano Family Fund, is depositing $250 into the Trump Account of each child ages 2 through 8 in ZIP code 11234, according to an IRS announcement dated Oct. 29.
Bisignano grew up in Brooklyn’s Old Mill Basin section, the IRS said. He is the 18th commissioner of the Social Security Administration, the IRS chief executive and the executive in charge of Trump Accounts, and a former public company CEO.
What the Brooklyn gift does
The donation goes straight into each eligible child’s Trump Account, where it is invested in a fund that tracks top U.S. companies and grows tax-deferred, according to the IRS announcement. The agency framed it as an investment in the children of Brooklyn and quoted Bisignano calling the borough home.
The announcement did not say how many children in the ZIP code are ages 2 through 8, or the total amount of the gift. It also did not give a date for when the deposits would appear in the accounts. Parents who have not yet claimed their child’s account would need to do so to see the balance.
The gift lands on top of other money already flowing into accounts. Children in that age range were born from roughly 2018 through 2024, which puts many of them in the group that received a separate $250 deposit from Michael and Susan Dell this fall. Invest America says the Dell money went to children born from Jan. 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2024, in ZIP codes with a median family income of $117,300 or less, until 25 million children were reached, and that all of those deposits were made as of Oct. 9.
Whether ZIP 11234 fell under the Dell income line is not stated in either announcement, so a child there may receive one gift or both.
A wave of big-name gifts to Trump Accounts
Bisignano joins other prominent names putting private money into the accounts. The Dells pledged $6.25 billion through their foundation, according to an October report from the American Legion on the gift. The site has also reported on SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell’s gift of about $270 million in shares to the accounts of kids 11 to 17 in lower-income ZIP codes, and on Elon Musk’s pledge of a SpaceX share to every American child.
The scale of the program has grown quickly. The IRS said in its Oct. 29 year-end release that nearly 70 million Trump Accounts are now open for children and 27 million have received funds from families, donors and the government.
The jump was fast. The Legion’s mid-October report, based on an Oct. 7 press conference, put the number of accounts created at about 10 million, with roughly $4.5 billion in funding committed and an expected rise to about $7 billion. Three weeks later, after the automatic enrollment round, the IRS count of open accounts stood at nearly 70 million.
Most of those accounts exist because of a rule published in the Federal Register on Sept. 30, which let the Treasury open an account automatically for each eligible child with a Social Security number and no election on file. The first round was set for about Oct. 1. The rule estimated it would affect about 73 million children in 44 million families.
How Brooklyn families can see the money
An automatically opened account has to be claimed before a parent can manage it. The IRS Trump Accounts FAQ says parents can check whether their child has an account, and claim it, through the Trump Accounts app or website, with information at trumpaccounts.gov and help at 866-USA-4547.
The Federal Register rule says the guardian must verify identity and legal authority to claim an account. The FAQ adds that families who receive IRS Notice CP318 should check that the child’s name, Social Security number and birth date match Social Security Administration records.
The program is built for the long haul. The Legion’s summary says the accounts convert to a traditional IRA when the child turns 18, that families and other eligible sources can contribute up to $5,000 a year per child, and that employers can contribute up to $2,500 per dependent.
The $1,000 for younger siblings
Bisignano’s gift skips babies and toddlers under 2, but many of them qualify for a different deposit. The IRS says the government contributes $1,000 for each eligible child born from Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2028.
That money is not automatic. The FAQ says parents must submit Form 4547 and choose the pilot contribution option, even if the child’s account was opened automatically. Families in ZIP 11234 with a newborn and an older child could end up with Bisignano’s $250 in one account and the government’s $1,000 in the other, if they file the form.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Jim.henderson – Public domain/Wikimedia Commons
