By SUZANNE DOWNING
Oct. 26, 2026 – Republican gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson is taking her proposal to turn children’s Permanent Fund dividends into long-term investments to a national audience.
Appearing on Fox News’ Fox Report with Jon Scott, Wilson described plans to partner with the Trump administration and give Alaska parents a simple way to direct their children’s PFDs into Trump Accounts.
Wilson, the highest-finishing Republican in Alaska’s August primary, said her administration would add an option to the Alaska State website allowing parents to invest their children’s dividends in the accounts. She estimated roughly 150,000 Alaska children are eligible and said sustained investing could produce balances exceeding $100,000 by adulthood.
The national appearance builds on the proposal she has been discussing on the campaign trail: Give parents another way to use Alaska’s resource wealth to build financial security for their children.
What are Trump Accounts? Created under federal law, Trump Accounts are tax-advantaged investment accounts for children. They are a type of individual retirement account, with special rules during childhood.
Treasury announced Oct. 1 that it had completed automatic enrollment for eligible children younger than 18 with valid Social Security numbers. Parents or guardians must still claim the accounts, verify their identities and relationship to the children, and accept the account terms before making contributions.
Details: Department of the Treasury
Eligible US-citizen children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, can also receive a one-time $1,000 federal contribution. That starter payment is restricted to the qualifying birth years.
Ordinary contributions generally have a combined annual limit of $5,000 during the childhood growth period, with inflation adjustments after 2027. Certain government and charitable contributions are exempt from that limit. The investment structure emphasizes low-cost funds tracking broad American stock-market indexes.
Wilson’s proposal would connect that federal savings vehicle with Alaska’s annual dividend. Participation would be a parental choice.
What could investing a child’s PFD produce?
The result would depend on the size of the dividend, how early deposits begin, how consistently parents contribute, and investment performance.
For illustration, here is what 18 annual deposits could accumulate to, assuming deposits at the end of each year:
| Annual deposit | At 5% annual growth | At 7% annual growth |
| $1,200 | $33,759 | $40,799 |
| $2,000 | $56,265 | $67,998 |
| $3,000 | $84,397 | $101,997 |
| $4,000 | $112,530 | $135,996 |
These are calculated examples that exclude any federal starter payment and other contributions, and show nominal balances before withdrawal taxes and inflation.
The calculations illustrate how Wilson’s six-figure possibility could work: Investing $3,000 annually for 18 years at a hypothetical 7% annual return would produce approximately $102,000 from $54,000 in deposits. A child beginning participation later would have fewer years to contribute and compound earnings.
The accounts also carry withdrawal restrictions. Funds generally cannot be withdrawn during the childhood growth period. Beginning Jan. 1 of the year the beneficiary turns 18, traditional IRA rules generally apply, including potential income taxes and an additional tax on early withdrawals unless an exception applies. Reaching adulthood does not turn the balance into unrestricted, tax-free spending money.
Wilson’s investment proposal accompanies her broader position that Alaska should follow the PFD formula in statute. Her stated position is that lawmakers who disagree with the formula should change it through the legislative process rather than substitute an annually negotiated amount that is not following statute.
Democratic opponent Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has opposed paying the full amount produced by the existing calculation, arguing that it would require unsustainable spending from the Permanent Fund. In his general-election questionnaire, he described rewriting the dividend formula as part of a broader fiscal compromise involving restructuring the fund and creating taxes.
Wilson is making the case that the proposed state website option would give parents a straightforward route to invest a child’s annual payment, and give that money years to grow.
