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Child Savings Account Coalition

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Our Shared Vision

The Child Savings Account Coalition is working for progressive, universal savings accounts for every child at birth with the goal of alleviating poverty, promoting sound financial awareness and social behavior and inspiring a sense of hope and opportunity for every child. Read our statement here.

For less than one percent of what the Federal government spends annually subsidizing the college educations, homes, retirement savings and businesses of the wealthiest 20% Americans, we could invest $500 in a child savings account (CSA) – in the financial future of every newborn. 

We know from rigorously evaluated demonstrations across the United States and child account policies in other countries that CSAs can build:

• Savings and saving behavior while reducing indebtedness.
• College expectations, attendance and completion.
• Hope and a sense of financial security.

Accounts for Every Child at Birth

More than a third of the four million American children born each year – and more than 40% of minority children – are born into families with negligible savings to weather emergencies or invest in their futures.  Lacking even a small amount of savings to invest in their future, these children’s dreams of attending college, building a better life and realizing their full potential, fade almost from day one.  Even those children not born into poverty are unlikely to have a savings account, receive meaningful financial education, save for their future or have their parents save for them.

Research and practice have shown that family ownership of even a few thousand dollars in assets can give children not only a measure of economic security, but also a transformative sense of possibility and hope for a brighter future.

Key Facts

• Asset building provides opportunity for economic mobility. In research with national data sets, parental wealth is positively associated with children’s math and reading scores, positive social behavior, college enrollment and college graduation.
• Savings increase expectations for the future. Interviews with children indicate that they begin to formulate ideas about their futures as early as elementary school.
• Low-income families can and do save. Research from the SEED Policy and Practice Initiative found that despite significant economic and social barriers, even very low-income families found ways to save for their children's futures.
• Bipartisan support exists for Child Savings Accounts. In a 2007 national poll, 69 percent of respondents and 78 percent of parents supported the idea of savings accounts for newborns – regardless of geographic area or political affiliation.
• Support for Child Savings Accounts is growing. Currently, CSAs exist in at least three other countries: Mexico, Korea and Singapore. In Maine, children receive a 529 college account at birth, with an initial deposit of $500. Twelve states provide matching funds for low- and moderate-income family contributions to 529s.

Learn More

For more information, email Inemesit Imoh at CFED or call 202-207-0135.