Republican Sen. Ted Cruz suggested the so-called Trump accounts for American children are part of an effort to revamp Social Security, a sensitive political subject long regarded as the “third rail” in U.S. politics.
Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act created allowed parents and other authorized individuals to open tax-advantaged savings accounts for any child under 18 with a Social Security number.
During a panel discussion at the Milken Institute’s Global Summit on Monday, Cruz pointed out he wrote that part of the legislation, noting that half of Americans don’t own stocks and can’t benefit from decades of compounding growth.
For 50 years, he added, U.S. conservatives have been trying to mimic Australia’s superannuation program, which requires employers to pay into an employee’s investment fund to be accessed upon retirement as a way to reduce reliance on public pensions. Cruz described a U.S. version as Social Security personal accounts.
“Here’s the dirty little secret: Trump accounts are Social Security personal accounts,” he said.
Republicans tried to make changes to Social Security during President George W. Bush’s second term but retreated amid pushback on the politically charged topic.
Retirees and soon-to-be retirees have long been a potent voting bloc that instill fear in lawmakers, especially those contemplating any adjustments to Social Security and Medicare.
“How did we get it done this time? Because we gave the money to babies and so the old people didn’t get pissed,” Cruz said.
The White House has estimated that fully funded Trump accounts could eventually grow to as much as $1.9 million by the time a child turns 28.
Cruz said that as parents see their kids’ Trump accounts surge, they will become more open to changing how their own payroll taxes are spent.
“Wouldn’t you like to be able to keep a portion of your tax payments that you’re paying already, and instead of sending it to Uncle Sam, wouldn’t you like to have a Trump account just like your kid does?” he added. “And my prediction is within five years, that is going to have a really compelling constituency because people will have seen it, and that is I think powerful and transformational.”
But that is where politics come into play. Social Security benefits are funded by workers currently paying payroll taxes, meaning diverting today’s tax payments would affect today’s retirees.
At the same time, the U.S. debt has eclipsed GDP with the outlook deteriorating on the back of soaring entitlement spending and exploding interest expenses.
Social Security tax revenue is already insufficient to cover benefits, with the difference currently bridged by the Social Security trust fund. But the trust fund projected to run out of money by 2034.
Without any changes to the program to raise additional revenue, benefits would have be slashed immediately to match the money that’s coming in, after the trust fund becomes insolvent.
For his part, President Donald Trump has vowed not to touch Social Security benefits. Instead, his One Big Beautiful Bill Act reduced the amount of income taxes recipients pay on their benefits.
Meanwhile, the White House has described the Trump accounts as a way to build wealth and get a head start on saving for retirement.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last year called the accounts “a backdoor for privatizing Social Security” but quickly clarified that they instead add to benefits alongside Social Security.
For now, Trump accounts will likely become a ubiquitous workplace benefit, just like 401k accounts, with employers matching employees’ contributions, Cruz said.
“Relatively speaking, it’s a pretty inexpensive employee benefit,” he added. “But the benefit over time is massive.”
