Delta’s newest employee benefit: $1,000 to help seed eligible Trump Accounts

Delta Air Lines is offering a new benefit to employees: a $1,000 match of the federal contribution given to eligible Trump Accounts, the new investment vehicles for American children that launched this summer.

The effort builds on the financial wellness programs Delta started a few years ago to increase their employees’ emergency savings.

“This match is the latest in our ongoing commitment to invest in our people and their financial well-being through profit-sharing, base pay raises, our Emergency Savings Program and more,” Delta Chief People Officer Allison Ausband said in a statement.

Trump Account contributions are a new benefit that, so far, a few dozen companies have started offering, experts say. But some are skeptical about how widely the accounts will be adopted.

The savings accounts were created under Republicans’ tax-and-spending law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and launched July 4. Anyone under the age of 18 can open an account to start saving for retirement.

Other than rare exceptions, funds can’t be withdrawn before the account holder turns 18. Then, standard rules for individual retirement accounts apply, meaning early distributions before age 59½ can trigger income taxes and a 10% penalty unless the money is used for higher education, first-time home-buying or other specific purposes.

The $1,000 down payment from the government is eligible only to babies born Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2028, (during President Donald Trump’s second term). That federal payment is what Delta said it is matching.

Employers can contribute up to $2,500 annually to an account. The contribution is a form of compensation for employees that is not part of taxable income.

On the companies’ side, they don’t have to worry about paying payroll taxes on the money and can deduct it from their expenses, Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Anytime you add something that can give someone an additional amount without costing them anything, I think it’s always attractive to do that,” Copeland said.

“It’s another way to distinguish the employer from other employers that are not offering this benefit,” he said.

Before adding the Trump Account benefit, Delta already offered up to $1,000 for an emergency savings fund if employees completed a financial education program.

“If Delta, you know, keeps adding all these different things, they could be the employer of choice, and I think that’s one of things why they’re doing it. And I think they appear to have a commitment to trying to find all the different ways that they can help their employees with their finances,” Copeland said.

But there are still things officials have to iron out.

A Delta spokesperson said the company will share details of how employees can take advantage of the match in the coming months, as the federal government provides additional guidance.

Although Trump Accounts are named for the current commander-in-chief, the idea of establishing savings accounts for children when they are born is not new, said Will McBride, chief economist at the Tax Foundation.

“The idea has long history,” McBride said. “Baby bonds, they were sometimes called. Basically, you know, variations of the same idea.”

He said Trump Accounts are not a great savings vehicle for individuals because the tax benefits are not great relative to their limitations, that other options such as 529 plans could make more sense in certain cases, but outside contributions may make the accounts attractive.

“It remains to be seen the degree to which individuals contribute to these accounts,” he said. “My guess is that they will not be used to a great degree as a savings vehicle, but rather as this account to receive contributions from the government and from employers, as well as from other charitable organizations.”