The employer contribution strikes me as important. Suppose that in addition to the initial $1000 government payment that on average $1000 is added per year for 18 years (by a combination of parent and parent employer contributions). Note that this is below the maximum allowed annual contribution of $5000. At a historically reasonable 7% rate of return these accounts will be worth ~36k at age 18, $58k at age 25 and $875k at age 65 subject to uncertainty of course as indicated below.