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TL;DR
The Marshall Islands completed the first year of Enra, a quarterly payment for eligible citizens living in the country, and approved $32.5 million for the program’s second year. The payments reach a large share of residents, but no published evaluation yet shows how they affect living standards or the economy. The program is funded through a trust fund established under the country’s compact with the United States, rather than regular tax revenue.
The Marshall Islands has completed the first year of Enra, a quarterly cash payment for eligible citizens living in the country, and approved $32.5 million for its second year. The expansion puts a nationwide basic-income policy back in focus as governments debate how to support people if artificial intelligence changes employment, but no published evaluation yet shows what Enra has changed.
Four payments went out between November 2025 and August 2026. The final payment was $215.85 per person and reached 40,714 people, according to the Marshall Islands Journal, citing the payment agency. President Hilda Heine has said the number represented more than 95% of the resident population. The source report estimates that a resident received roughly $780 over the year, though individual totals depended on payment amounts and eligibility.
Enra is the official Individual Support Distribution. It covers Marshallese citizens living in the country, including children, without a means test or work requirement. Payments are made by check, bank deposit or the Lomalo phone wallet. The amount is not fixed per person: the program divides a set annual budget among eligible recipients, so the payment fell to about $160 when registrations increased. A $3.2 million World Bank grant helped raise later payments to around $200.
On September 2, the US–Marshall Islands trust fund committee approved $32.5 million for the second year. 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. These figures describe approved funding; they do not by themselves establish the program’s longer-term costs or 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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A Nationwide Test With Limited Evidence
Enra matters because it moves basic income beyond the small, temporary trials that have shaped much of the debate. It is a national program delivered to tens of thousands of people, including children, and its first year offers practical evidence about reaching residents across a country made up of widely separated islands. That makes its administration relevant to other governments considering direct payments, including in response to economic disruption linked to automation.
But the available evidence is mainly about reach, payment amounts and funding. The source report says no evaluation of Enra has been published. Without one, the first year cannot yet establish whether the payments improved household finances, affected work decisions, changed prices or reduced hardship. The experience may inform questions about how to deliver a program, but it does not yet settle whether a similar policy would work elsewhere or what its effects would be.
The funding model also limits what other countries can infer. Enra is being paid for from a trust fund built under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, not from a new, recurring tax stream. A program supported by that source faces different fiscal conditions from one financed through ordinary government revenue. The International Monetary Fund has put the program’s cost at 8.1% of GDP in fiscal 2026 and has urged a move to targeted support when feasible.
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How Enra’s First Year Unfolded
The first Enra payment was issued on November 26, 2025, at about $200 per person. At launch, 33,119 people had enrolled, according to the source report. The government’s program rules exclude citizens living abroad, even though many Marshallese citizens live outside the country. The Social Security Administration maintains the eligible list, while the Ministry of Finance oversees the funds.
The payment schedule and amounts shifted as the registry grew. The second payment, initially expected in late February 2026, was delayed until the end of March while officials reviewed new registrations and residency. The source report says the finance minister described checks on departures, with people who stayed away for more than three months generally removed from the list, subject to exceptions for matters such as study, medical treatment and diplomatic service. By then, more than 37,000 people were registered, and the fixed budget meant the payment fell to about $160.
The fund’s digital delivery option drew attention because Lomalo uses a token called USDM1. Some coverage has called it a stablecoin, but the finance ministry rejects that description, saying it is a US-dollar sovereign bond backed one-to-one by short-dated US Treasuries. The ministry says it is not a cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency or stablecoin. The wallet is one of three payment channels; the source material does not report how many recipients use it.
What Enra Has Not Yet Shown
The central gap is the lack of a published evaluation of the program’s effects. The available information does not establish how the payments have affected poverty, household spending, employment, prices or health. It is also unclear whether any evaluation is underway and when results might be released.
Some implementation details remain unavailable in the source material. These include how many people use Lomalo, the final number of eligible recipients over the full year, and the precise administrative costs of operating the program. The reported payment totals and coverage figures come from government officials or reporting that cites the payment agency; the available material does not provide an independent audit of those figures.
Longer-term affordability is unresolved as well. The trust fund was valued at about $1.77 billion at the end of July 2026, according to the source report, but that figure alone does not show how long it can support Enra while meeting other commitments. Nor is it yet clear whether the government will retain the universal design, alter eligibility or adopt the IMF’s suggested targeted approach.
Funding and Evaluation in Year Two
The immediate next stage is implementation of the second-year budget approved in September. Enra is expected to continue quarterly, with individual payments shaped by the number of eligible recipients and available funding. The first-year pattern suggests that enrollment changes and additional grants can affect how much each person receives.
For a clearer assessment, readers will need a published evaluation that measures outcomes rather than counting payments alone. Further reporting should also track whether the trust fund remains the program’s primary source, whether the government changes the eligibility rules, and whether it responds to the IMF’s recommendation. Until those details are available, Enra is evidence that a nationwide payment system can operate at substantial scale, but not yet evidence of its broader economic impact.
Key Questions
What is Enra?
Enra is the Marshall Islands’ Individual Support Distribution, a quarterly payment for citizens who live in the country. It includes children and does not require recipients to meet an income test or work requirement.
How much did people receive?
The payment varied because a fixed annual budget was divided among eligible recipients. The final payment in August 2026 was $215.85 per person; earlier payments fell to about $160 as registrations rose, then increased with support from a World Bank grant.
How is the program funded?
The source report says 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 Enra and a separate $3.2 million top-up.
Has Enra been shown to improve living standards?
No published evaluation has been reported in the source material. The first year’s payment and reach figures do not establish its effects on poverty, employment, spending or other outcomes.
Not yet. Enra can offer lessons about delivering payments across a dispersed population, but its funding source and national circumstances differ from those of larger economies. Its social and economic effects also remain unevaluated.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
