Taiwan to roll out child investment accounts, tax incentives to counter declining birth rate

Taiwan is gearing up to introduce government-subsidised investment accounts for youths between the ages of six and eighteen. The island's rapidly expanding wealth management industry may benefit from this development.

According to Bloomberg, the programme is a component of an 18-measure policy package that President Lai Ching-te and his administration launched on Wednesday with the goal of increasing family assistance and reversing Taiwan's declining birth rate.

The new programme extends eligibility to youth under the age of 18, whereas Taiwan's prior savings account programme was limited to young people with low and intermediate incomes.

For children under the age of eighteen, the government will give them a monthly child allowance of NT$5,000 ($154). NT$2,500 of that amount will be automatically transferred into special investing accounts for youngsters aged 6 to 18.

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In addition to guaranteeing a minimum return equal to a two-year fixed-term deposit interest rate, the government will appoint professionals to oversee the investment accounts.

Furthermore, the government would keep helping underprivileged kids by matching parents' savings in the designated accounts by up to NT$1,250 every month.

The programme also includes tax benefits and increased birth and school subsidies. The policy includes tax benefits for families with children, government support for assisted reproduction, and an extension of maternity, paternity, and marriage leave.

The implementation of the programme coincides with the November local government elections in Taiwan. Taiwan is under pressure to address its demographic crisis; according to a UN assessment, its fertility rate was among the lowest in the world in 2024, at just 0.86.

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, President Donald Trump established "Trump accounts" to provide millions of American children $1,000 in seed money.

In Norway, where the programme dates back to the 1940s, parents are given a stipend of roughly $220 per child until they are 18.