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TL;DR
The Marshall Islands completed Enra’s first year, paying eligible resident citizens four quarterly installments from November 2025 through August 2026. Parliament approved $32.5 million for the program’s second year, but no published evaluation yet shows how the payments affect work, living standards or the economy.
The Marshall Islands completed the first year of Enra, a quarterly basic-income payment for resident citizens, and approved $32.5 million for its second year. The program reached 40,714 people in its final first-year payment, but no public evaluation yet establishes what the money has changed for households, employment or the wider economy.
Enra, formally called the Individual Support Distribution, pays eligible Marshallese citizens living in the country, including children. It has no means test or work requirement. Four payments went out between November 2025 and August 2026. The final installment was $215.85 per person, according to the Social Security Administration’s administrator, as reported by the Marshall Islands Journal. President Hilda Heine said the program covered more than 95% of the resident population.
The payment is a share of a fixed annual budget, not a fixed amount per person. The first installment was $201.92, but as registrations rose above 37,000, the March 2026 payment fell to about $160. A $3.2 million World Bank grant helped lift the next two payments to around $200, with the August installment reaching $215.85. The number of eligible people and the amount each receives can therefore change between installments.
Parliament passed a budget on September 18, 2026, allocating $32.5 million to Enra and a separate $3.2 million top-up. The prior year’s budget line was $27.6 million. 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. The trust fund was valued at about $1.77 billion at the end of July, 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 UBI Test Beyond Pilot Projects
Enra offers a rare example of a nationwide, continuing basic-income policy, rather than a limited trial involving a sample of residents for a set period. Its first year confirms that a government can register and pay a large share of its resident population through several channels. It does not yet show whether a regular payment changes how people work, spend, save or manage financial shocks.
That distinction matters as governments debate how artificial intelligence may reshape jobs and incomes. Enra is not an AI response, and its experience cannot by itself predict what would happen in larger or wealthier economies. Its small population, geographic isolation and dedicated trust-fund financing make the policy setting different. The program can inform questions about payment delivery and eligibility, but its effects on work and living standards remain unmeasured in the publicly available evidence described by the source.
There is also a fiscal trade-off. 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 scheme at the first feasible opportunity. That is the IMF’s policy recommendation, not a finding that the payments have failed. The larger second-year allocation shows that the government has chosen to continue the program while questions about its long-term funding and results remain open.
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How Enra Reached Residents
The first payment went out on November 26, 2025, after the Social Security Administration had enrolled 33,119 people by the end of September. Eligibility is limited to Marshallese citizens who live in the islands; citizens living abroad are excluded. According to the finance minister, immigration records are used to check residence, and people away for more than three months can be removed from the list, with exceptions including students, diplomats and patients receiving treatment abroad.
Payments can be made by check, bank deposit or the Lomalo phone wallet. The wallet has attracted attention because it can deliver USDM1, a digital instrument associated with a public blockchain. The Ministry of Finance says USDM1 is a US-dollar sovereign bond backed one-to-one by short-dated U.S. Treasuries and rejects describing it as a cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency or stablecoin. The source report says the ministry’s description is distinct from labels used by some media outlets.
Digital delivery addresses a practical challenge in a country spread across remote atolls: the main bank branches are on Majuro and Ebeye, while mailed checks can take weeks to reach some outer islands. However, the number of Enra recipients using Lomalo has not been published. Delivery options show how the program operates; they do not establish which method is most widely used or whether recipients can access the money equally easily.
Results Beyond Payment Coverage
The main evidence gap is the absence of a published evaluation of Enra’s effects. The payment totals establish reach and cost, but do not show whether the program changed employment, income security, household spending, poverty or prices. The source material gives no comparison group or measured outcome data for those questions.
It is also unclear how many recipients use the digital wallet, how the trust fund will support the program over the long term, or whether the annual allocation will keep pace with changes in registration. The per-person amount has already varied as the eligible list grew and outside funding was added. The source report’s estimate that a resident received roughly $780 over the first year is an approximate calculation, not a uniform guaranteed annual benefit.
The claim that Enra is the world’s first country-wide, long-term UBI comes from the Marshall Islands government. The available source describes it as difficult to find a direct equivalent, but does not provide an independent global review confirming the superlative. Its scale and design can be described without treating that claim as independently verified.
Second-Year Funding and Evaluation
The next confirmed step is the program’s second year, backed by the $32.5 million parliamentary allocation and $3.2 million top-up. Future payment amounts will depend on the eligible population, the budget available and any additional funding. No later installment date or amount is specified in the source material.
For a clearer assessment of what Enra means for AI and work debates, readers will need published results on recipients’ livelihoods and employment, alongside details on payment access and the program’s longer-term financing. Until those are available, the first year is evidence that nationwide payments can be delivered at substantial scale—not proof of their broader economic effects.
Key Questions
What is Enra?
Enra is the Marshall Islands’ Individual Support Distribution, a quarterly payment for eligible Marshallese citizens living in the country. It has no means test or work requirement.
How much did people receive in the first year?
Payments varied. The first installment was $201.92; the final installment was $215.85. A payment fell to about $160 in March as registrations grew, before grant funding supported later installments. The source report estimates roughly $780 per resident across the year, but this is not a fixed guaranteed amount for everyone.
How is the program funded?
Enra is financed through a trust fund created under the Compact of Free Association with the United States. The IMF estimated the program cost at 8.1% of GDP in fiscal 2026 and recommended replacing it with a targeted scheme.
Does Enra show what AI-related job losses would mean?
Not on the evidence currently reported. Enra is not an AI policy, and no published evaluation described in the source measures its effects on employment or household outcomes. It offers experience with nationwide payment delivery, not a settled answer about how basic income would affect work in other economies.
What is still unknown about the program?
No public evaluation yet establishes Enra’s effects on work, spending or living standards. The number of recipients using the Lomalo wallet and the program’s long-term financing needs are also not stated in the source material.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
