🔍 Read the full analysis: The Marshall Islands’ Nationwide Income Policy Through An AI Lens on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
The Marshall Islands completed Enra’s first year of quarterly payments to resident citizens and approved $32.5 million for its second year, alongside a $3.2 million top-up. The program reached more than 40,000 people, but no evaluation has been published to show its effects; funding comes from a trust fund, and the IMF has urged a move to targeted assistance.
The Marshall Islands has approved $32.5 million for the second year of Enra, its nationwide quarterly payment to resident citizens, after completing four rounds in the program’s first year. A separate $3.2 million top-up was also included in the September budget, while no public evaluation has yet established what the payments changed for recipients.
Enra, formally called the Individual Support Distribution, pays eligible Marshallese citizens living in the country, including children, without a means test or work requirement. The Social Security Administration maintains the eligibility list, and payments can be made by check, bank deposit or the Lomalo phone wallet. Citizens living abroad are not eligible under the rules described by the government.
The first payment went out on November 26, 2025. The fourth, in August 2026, was $215.85 per person to 40,714 people, according to the Social Security Administration administrator, as reported by the Marshall Islands Journal. President Hilda Heine said the program reached more than 95% of the resident population. The total payment varies because the program divides a set budget among eligible recipients.
That variability showed as enrollment grew. The second payment, delayed until March while new registrations and residency were reviewed, fell to about $160 per person. A $3.2 million World Bank grant helped raise the third and fourth payments to around $200 or more. The approved second-year allocation is above the previous year’s $27.6 million budget line, according to the source report.
Infographic 01 · Enra, the first year
Four payments, one fixed pot
How the Marshall Islands paid a basic income to almost every resident citizen between November 2025 and August 2026.
- Nov 2025First payment: $201.92 to more than 33,000 people. MISSA had enrolled 33,119 by 30 Sep 2025.Launch ceremony in Majuro, 26 Nov
- End Mar 2026About $160. Delayed a month to vet new registrations and residence. More than 37,000 registered, same fixed budget.Citizens away more than 3 months are removed from the list, with exceptions
- End May 2026About $200 again, thanks to a $3.2 million World Bank grant ($1.6 million per quarter). More than 41,000 on the eligible list.Pushed by the president over fuel and food prices
- Aug 2026$215.85 to 40,714 people. Fewer paper checks than in earlier rounds.MISSA administrator to the Marshall Islands Journal
Payment per person, year one
US dollars per quarter · March and May rounded as reported
Why the amount moves
- Enra is a fixed annual budget shared equally among everyone eligible that quarter.
- More registrations mean a smaller share unless the budget grows.
- Roughly $780 per person in year one, about 12% of GDP per person (IMF: $6,417, FY2023). My arithmetic.
Sources: Marshall Islands Journal (27 Nov 2025, 26 Feb, 22 May, 6 Aug, 27 Aug 2026) · IMF, 10 Sep 2025. March and May amounts as reported (“about”).
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A Larger Payment, Without Outcome Data
Enra is significant because it moves a basic-income-style payment from a limited trial to a countrywide policy. Its first year offers evidence about delivery and reach: tens of thousands of residents received payments through several channels, including on remote islands where bank access is limited. It does not yet offer published evidence about whether the money reduced hardship, changed employment, affected prices or improved household security.
The increase in funding also makes the question of long-term affordability more pressing. The International Monetary Fund estimated Enra’s cost at 8.1% of GDP in fiscal 2026 and urged the government to replace it with a targeted program at the first feasible opportunity. That is the IMF’s policy position, not a finding that the payments have failed. For readers following AI and work, the case is relevant as a real-world example of broad cash support, but it does not by itself show how such a policy would perform in larger or wealthier economies facing job changes from automation.
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How Enra Reached Its First Year
The government describes Enra as a long-term universal basic income program. That characterization is a government claim; the source report notes that Alaska’s annual dividend and time-limited trials elsewhere differ in design and duration. Enra’s eligibility is based on citizenship and residence, rather than income or employment, and its quarterly share comes from a fixed annual allocation.
The payment mechanism has drawn attention as well. Lomalo can deliver a digital token called USDM1. The Ministry of Finance describes it as a U.S.-dollar sovereign bond backed one-to-one by short-dated U.S. Treasuries and says it is not a cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency or stablecoin. The ministry’s description should be distinguished from how some media reports have labeled the token. The number of Enra recipients using the wallet has not been published.
The program is financed through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, rather than through a dedicated tax, according to the source report. The fund was valued at about $1.77 billion at the end of July 2026. This provides important context for the current payments, but does not establish how much funding can be sustained over the longer term.
What One Year Cannot Yet Show
No evaluation of Enra has been published, according to the source report. It is therefore not yet possible to state from the available information what the program has done to poverty, household spending, employment or living standards. Payment counts show reach, not impact.
The long-term funding path is also unsettled. The trust fund’s reported value and the approved year-two budget do not, on their own, show how future distributions will be protected from changes in investment returns or other budget needs. The source material does not provide a schedule beyond the second year or a government response to the IMF’s recommendation. It also does not report how many recipients use Lomalo rather than checks or bank deposits.
Second-Year Payments and Public Evidence
The immediate next step is delivery of Enra’s second-year payments under the approved budget and top-up. Because the payment pool is shared among eligible recipients, the amount each person receives will depend on enrollment and the funds available for each round. The first year’s changing payment amounts suggest that enrollment checks and funding decisions will remain relevant.
Readers should watch for published payment totals, eligibility updates and any formal evaluation of the program. Further detail on the trust fund’s long-term financing and on the IMF’s proposed shift to targeted support would help clarify whether Enra is intended to remain universal. Until such evidence and decisions are public, the confirmed record is that the payments reached a large share of residents and that year-two funding was approved—not that the program’s wider effects have been demonstrated.
Key Questions
Who qualifies for Enra?
Marshallese citizens who live in the Marshall Islands qualify, including children. Citizens living abroad are excluded under the rules described in the source report.
How much does each person receive?
The amount is not fixed: the government divides a set funding pool among eligible people each quarter. The August 2026 payment was $215.85 per person, while an earlier round fell to about $160 as enrollment increased.
Has Enra been shown to reduce poverty or change employment?
No public evaluation has been published in the source material, so those outcomes cannot yet be confirmed. Payment totals establish reach, not effects on poverty, work or household finances.
Where does the program’s funding come from?
Enra is funded through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, according to the source report. The second-year budget includes $32.5 million for Enra and a separate $3.2 million top-up.
Does Enra show what basic income would do in an AI-driven economy?
Not on its own. Enra is a real nationwide case of broad cash payments, but its effects have not yet been evaluated publicly, and the Marshall Islands’ funding and economic conditions differ from those of larger economies.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
