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TL;DR
The Marshall Islands completed a year of quarterly, no-means-test payments under Enra, its nationwide basic-income program, with the August 2026 payment reaching 40,714 people. The government approved $32.5 million for year two, but the program’s effects have not been publicly evaluated, and the IMF has urged a move toward targeted support.
The Marshall Islands has completed the first year of Enra, a nationwide program providing quarterly payments to resident citizens, and lawmakers have approved $32.5 million for its second year. The August 2026 payment was $215.85 per person to 40,714 people, according to the payment agency; what the program has changed in recipients’ lives remains unknown because no public evaluation has been released.
Enra, officially the Individual Support Distribution, makes payments to eligible Marshallese citizens living in the country, including children, without a means test or work requirement. The program began with its first payment on November 26, 2025. Four payments followed through August 2026. Citizens living overseas are not eligible, according to the program description.
The payment is a share of a fixed budget, so the amount per person has varied as registrations changed. The first payment was $201.92 to more than 33,000 people. By the second payment, registrations had risen above 37,000, and the per-person amount fell to about $160. A $3.2 million World Bank grant helped raise the third and fourth payments; the August payment was $215.85 to 40,714 people, MISSA’s administrator told the Marshall Islands Journal.
The trust fund committee approved $32.5 million for Enra’s second year on September 2, 2026. Parliament passed a budget on September 18 that included that amount and a separate $3.2 million Enra Top Up. The previous year’s budget line was $27.6 million. The source account says the program is financed through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, rather than a new tax.
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 Can Tell AI Policy
Enra puts a live policy question into practice: whether a broad, predictable cash payment can support households as economic and labor markets change. That question has added relevance as governments consider how artificial intelligence could alter jobs and incomes. But one year of payments is not evidence that a basic income offsets AI-related job losses or improves employment, health or financial security.
The clearest reported result so far is reach: the August payment went to 40,714 people, which President Hilda Heine said represented more than 95% of the resident population. That is an administrative measure, not an assessment of impact. Without published outcome data, readers cannot tell whether payments reduced hardship, changed work decisions, affected prices or reached people consistently across the islands.
The funding model also limits what other governments can infer. Enra draws on a dedicated trust fund, and the source account reports its value at about $1.77 billion at the end of July 2026. A country with a distinct funding arrangement and population cannot, on this evidence alone, establish how a larger state might finance a permanent income floor through taxes or other public revenue.
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How the Payments Work
Enra is administered by the Marshall Islands Social Security Administration, which maintains the eligibility list, while the Ministry of Finance oversees the money. Eligible residents can receive payments by check, bank deposit or the Lomalo phone wallet. The wallet uses a digital token called USDM1, which has attracted attention alongside the basic-income policy.
Descriptions of USDM1 differ. The source account says some coverage calls it a stablecoin, while the finance ministry rejects that label. It describes the token as a US-dollar sovereign bond backed one-to-one by short-dated US Treasuries, and says it is not a cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency or stablecoin. The number of Enra recipients using the wallet has not been published.
Payment delivery reflects the country’s geography. The source account says major bank branches are concentrated on Majuro and Ebeye, while checks can take weeks to reach outer islands. The program’s first year also involved eligibility checks: officials reviewed residency, and citizens absent for more than three months could be removed from the list, with exceptions including students, diplomats and people sent abroad for medical treatment.
Impact Data Still Missing
No public evaluation of Enra has been released, according to the source account. That leaves unanswered whether the payments changed poverty, food security, household debt, employment or access to services, and how those effects differed across age groups and islands. The program’s reported reach does not answer those questions.
Some operating details also remain unpublished. The available account does not state how many recipients use Lomalo, how many receive checks or deposits, or what proportion of eligible residents missed payments. The precise future value of each quarterly payment is also unclear: because Enra divides a fixed pot among registered recipients, the amount can change as enrollment and supplementary funding change.
The budget figures describe approved funding, not a published assessment of long-term affordability. The IMF’s 8.1% figure is its estimate for fiscal 2026; the source material does not provide a comparable estimate for the second year or explain what would happen if trust-fund returns or outside grants changed.
Second-Year Payments and Evaluation
The next phase is the second year of quarterly distributions, backed by the approved $32.5 million allocation and $3.2 million top-up. The source account does not give dates or per-person amounts for the next payments. Those figures will depend on the eligible population and how the approved funds are distributed.
For the program to inform debates beyond the Marshall Islands, the key next development would be a public evaluation that measures outcomes, not just enrollment and payments. Until such evidence is available, Enra can show how a nationwide cash program is being administered and financed in this setting, but it cannot settle claims about basic income as a response to AI-driven changes in work.
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, according to the source account.
How many people received the latest reported payment?
The August 2026 payment of $215.85 went to 40,714 people, according to the Social Security Administration administrator cited by the Marshall Islands Journal.
How is Enra funded?
The program is funded through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States. A World Bank grant also provided $3.2 million for the first year’s payments, according to the source material.
Has Enra shown that basic income improves people’s lives?
That has not been established by a published evaluation. The reported figures show payment amounts and reach, but do not measure effects on poverty, work, health or household finances.
What does the program show about AI and jobs?
It offers a real-world example of a country delivering broad cash payments, but it does not yet show whether basic income can offset AI-related job changes. The program’s outcomes remain unevaluated, and its funding model differs from those of larger economies.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
