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TL;DR
The Marshall Islands completed the first year of Enra, a quarterly payment for resident citizens, reaching 40,714 people with its August 2026 payment. The program’s funding and broad coverage are documented, but no published evaluation yet shows how it affects poverty, work or household finances—limits that matter to debates about income support as AI changes employment.
The Marshall Islands has completed the first year of Enra, a quarterly payment for resident citizens, and approved $32.5 million for its second year, alongside a separate $3.2 million top-up. The program reached 40,714 people with its August 2026 payment, but no published evaluation yet shows what the payments have changed—an evidence gap relevant to countries weighing income support as artificial intelligence reshapes work.
Enra’s official name is the Individual Support Distribution. It pays eligible Marshallese citizens living in the country, including children, without a means test or work requirement. Citizens living abroad are not eligible. The program is administered through the Marshall Islands Social Security Administration, with payments available by check, bank deposit or the Lomalo phone wallet.
The first payment went out on November 26, 2025. Four quarterly payments followed through August 2026. The August payment was $215.85 per person to 40,714 people, according to the program administrator, as reported by the Marshall Islands Journal. President Hilda Heine said that total represented more than 95% of the resident population.
Payments vary because Enra distributes a set annual budget across the eligible list. As enrollment grew, the March 2026 payment fell to about $160 per person. A $3.2 million World Bank grant helped raise the third and fourth payments to about $200 or more. The second-year budget is higher than the $27.6 million allocation for the first year, though the government has not published an evaluation of Enra’s effects.
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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What Enra Shows About Income Support
Enra offers a real-world example of a government making regular, broadly distributed payments part of national policy rather than limiting them to a small trial. Its first year provides evidence about coverage, payment delivery and budget pressures. It does not yet establish whether a basic income reduces poverty, changes employment, improves health or helps households manage higher prices.
That distinction matters to debates about AI and work. Proposals for basic income are often framed as a response to possible job losses or income disruption as automation expands. The Marshall Islands can show how a universal payment is organized in practice, including how eligibility and delivery work across remote communities. But its experience cannot, on the available evidence, settle whether similar payments would offset AI-related job disruption elsewhere.
The program’s funding also sets limits on comparisons. Enra is paid from a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, not from a new tax on domestic income or a general AI dividend. The fund was valued at about $1.77 billion at the end of July 2026. Countries without a comparable source of money would face different choices over who pays and what other spending a program might displace.
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How Enra Reached Its First Year
The Marshall Islands launched Enra in November 2025. At the outset, more than 33,000 people were enrolled, and the first payment was about $202. Later rounds were delayed while officials reviewed new applications and residency. According to the finance minister, the immigration office checks departures, and citizens who remain abroad for more than three months are removed from the list, with exceptions including students, diplomats and people sent overseas for medical treatment.
By March 2026, enrollment had passed 37,000 and the fixed budget was being divided among more recipients, lowering each payment to about $160. The government then used a World Bank grant to increase later payments. The 2026–27 budget, passed by parliament on September 18, set aside $32.5 million for Enra and $3.2 million for a top-up. A trust fund committee had approved the $32.5 million allocation on September 2.
Enra has also drawn attention because the Lomalo wallet can deliver a digital instrument called USDM1. The finance ministry describes USDM1 as a U.S.-dollar sovereign bond backed one-to-one by short-dated U.S. Treasuries, and rejects descriptions of it as a cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency or stablecoin. The ministry says the wallet addresses practical access problems: bank branches are concentrated on Majuro and Ebeye, while checks can take weeks to reach outer islands. The number of recipients using the wallet has not been published.
What One Year Cannot Yet Show
The central evidence gap is that no evaluation of Enra has been published. The payment totals show how many people received money and how the per-person amount changed as enrollment grew; they do not establish the effects on recipients or the wider economy. It remains unknown how households spend the funds, whether the payments change work decisions, or how they affect poverty and access to basic needs.
Some details about delivery also remain unavailable. The number of people using Lomalo has not been reported, and the program’s effective reach depends on residency rules and the accuracy of the eligibility list. The government’s claim that the August payment covered more than 95% of residents is attributed to President Heine; the reported payment count alone does not answer every question about who was eligible but missed a payment.
The longer-term financial picture is also uncertain. The available material identifies the trust fund as the main source of financing and reports the cost as a share of GDP, but does not establish how long the current payment level can be maintained or what other spending might be affected. The IMF has urged a move to targeted support, while the government has budgeted for a second year.
Second-Year Payments and Evaluation
The immediate next step is the second year of Enra payments, funded under the budget passed in September 2026. Future payment amounts will depend on the approved funding, the number of eligible residents and any additional support. The first-year experience suggests that enrollment changes can affect individual payments when the overall pot is fixed.
For a clearer account of what the program achieves, readers will need published data on outcomes as well as reach: how recipients use the money, whether household conditions change, and how costs compare with alternatives such as targeted assistance. Until that evidence appears, Enra can inform discussions about the administration and financing of broad income payments, but it cannot by itself show how a basic income would respond to AI-driven changes in employment.
Key Questions
Who qualifies for Enra?
Marshallese citizens living in the Marshall Islands qualify, including children. Citizens living abroad are excluded, subject to residency rules and stated exceptions.
How much does each person receive?
The payment is a share of a fixed budget, paid quarterly, so the amount changes with enrollment and available funding. The August 2026 payment was $215.85 per person.
Has Enra been shown to reduce poverty or change employment?
No published evaluation has established those effects. The first-year figures document coverage and payment amounts, not outcomes such as poverty or work decisions.
How is the program funded?
Enra is funded through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States. The second-year budget includes $32.5 million for the program and a separate $3.2 million top-up.
What can Enra tell other countries about AI and work?
It can offer practical information about delivering broad payments and managing a fixed budget. Without outcome research—and given the Marshall Islands’ distinct funding source—it does not establish whether basic income would offset AI-related job disruption in other countries.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
