$200 Million for HOPE for Children Trust Fund

The HOPE for Children Trust Fund, which will provide long-term savings accounts for eligible Jamaican children, will be seeded with $200 million by the Government in the upcoming fiscal year.

The announcement was made by Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, in his contribution to the 2025/26 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives today (March 20).

Dr. Holness noted that while strengthening Jamaica’s social safety net is crucial, Government must go further to create pathways out of poverty.

“The reality is that thousands of children in low-income families reach adulthood without any savings or assets to help them get a start in life. This lack of capital perpetuates generational poverty. We must break this cycle,” he said.

The HOPE for Children Trust Fund, which the Prime Minister announced in last year’s Budget presentation, endeavours to provide eligible children with long-term savings accounts, funded annually by the Government.

The funds will accumulate with interest and will be accessible on or after the child’s 18th birthday for transformational purposes such as education and skills training, home or commercial property ownership, or business investment.

The central idea behind the programme is to equip young Jamaicans with a financial foundation to correct the “historic intergenerational endowment inequality that has plagued us from the days of enslavement,” the Prime Minister said.

Mr. Holness explained that while the Government will be the central contributor to the fund, a formal structure is being created to allow funding support from the private sector or individuals.

“We are making progress with determining the legal structure of the fund and examining options for how the fund will be managed and administered,” he said.

Any Jamaican child born on or after Jamaica’s 60th anniversary of Independence (August 6, 2022), who is part of a Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) household or a ward of the state, will be eligible to register for the HOPE for Children Trust Fund.