Senator Ted Cruz told a gathering of financial leaders this week that the Trump administration's new investment accounts for children represent a pathway to fundamentally transform Social Security into a system of personal accounts, reviving a conservative policy goal that has failed repeatedly over the past half-century.
Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, the Texas Republican described so-called Trump Accounts—created under last year's One Big Beautiful Bill—as "Social Security personal accounts." The program currently provides a $1,000 federal deposit into investment accounts for eligible children born between 2025 and 2028, with funds locked in low-cost stock market index funds until adulthood.
But Cruz made clear the accounts serve a larger purpose. "Conservatives have tried to get personal accounts for 50 years," he said, according to Newsweek. By targeting children first, he argued, opponents couldn't mobilize effectively—"but babies grow up." Eventually, Cruz envisions allowing Americans to redirect their payroll tax contributions into personal investment accounts rather than the traditional Social Security system.
The proposal immediately drew sharp criticism from groups representing retirees. "Turning over Americans' hard-earned benefits to Wall Street would expose future retirees to unnecessary risk," warned Max Richtman, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. A 2022 poll found only 15 percent of voters support privatizing Social Security, with 77 percent preferring the current system.
Policy experts noted the political stakes heading into midterm elections. While market-based retirement accounts could theoretically yield higher returns, they eliminate Social Security's guaranteed benefit—a protection that has kept millions of elderly Americans out of poverty since the program's creation in 1935. Financial advisors also questioned whether the initial $1,000 deposit would meaningfully build wealth without substantial ongoing contributions.
