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TL;DR
The Marshall Islands completed Enra’s first year, with four quarterly payments reaching 40,714 people in the final round. The government approved $32.5 million for year two, but no evaluation has been published showing how the payments affect poverty, work or household finances. Enra offers a real-world case of a nationwide income payment, not a direct forecast of how AI-related job losses would be managed elsewhere.
The Marshall Islands has completed the first year of Enra, its quarterly cash payment to resident citizens, and approved $32.5 million for year two. The final payment in August 2026 was $215.85 per person for 40,714 people, according to the payment agency; the program’s reach is clear, but its effects are not, because no evaluation has been published.
Enra’s official name is the Individual Support Distribution. Eligible Marshallese citizens living in the country receive an equal share of a fixed annual budget, regardless of income or employment. Children qualify; citizens living abroad do not. Payments can be collected by check, deposited into a bank account or received through the Lomalo phone wallet.
The first payment, made on November 26, 2025, was $201.92 and went to more than 33,000 people. As registrations grew, the March 2026 payment fell to about $160. A $3.2 million World Bank grant helped raise the third and fourth payments, and the final installment reached $215.85 per person. The figures show that the amount varies with the size of the eligible list and the funding available.
For year two, a trust fund committee approved $32.5 million on September 2, and Parliament passed a budget on September 18 that included the same amount for Enra plus a separate $3.2 million top-up. The previous year’s budget line was $27.6 million. The source material says the funding comes from a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, rather than a new tax dedicated to the payments.
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 Show About Income Support
Enra matters to the global debate about income security and AI-driven workplace change because it moves beyond a small trial: payments are a nationwide policy for eligible residents. That gives governments and researchers a practical case to examine questions about enrollment, delivery and funding at a national scale.
But the program does not, by itself, show that a universal payment can replace wages lost to automation or work in a larger, wealthier economy. The Marshall Islands has a distinct population, public budget and trust-fund arrangement. The source reports no published evaluation of Enra’s effects on poverty, spending, employment or well-being. Its first year demonstrates reach and administrative operation, not a proven answer to the future of work.
The distinction matters for readers weighing policy proposals: an announced payment amount is not evidence of a measured outcome. Enra may inform discussion about how cash reaches people, including those on remote islands, while its effects and long-term affordability remain open questions.
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How the First Year Was Funded
Enra began in November 2025. The payment list expanded from 33,119 enrolled people by September 30 of that year to more than 37,000 by the second payment period. The government delayed that installment while it reviewed new registrations and residency. According to the source, officials check departures, and citizens away for more than three months are generally removed from the list, with exceptions including students, diplomats and people sent overseas for medical care.
The fixed-budget design means that more eligible recipients can reduce each person’s share unless additional funds are added. The World Bank grant helped lift payments in 2026, while the second-year budget is backed by a trust fund reported to be worth about $1.77 billion at the end of July 2026. That fund and its relationship to the country’s other fiscal needs are central to understanding whether the spending can continue.
Enra has also drawn attention for Lomalo, a phone wallet that carries a digital instrument called USDM1. The finance ministry describes USDM1 as a dollar-denominated sovereign bond backed one-to-one by short-term U.S. Treasuries and says it is not a cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency or stablecoin. The wallet is one payment route, not the whole program; published figures on how many recipients use it are not available in the source.
The International Monetary Fund put Enra’s cost at 8.1% of GDP in fiscal 2026 and urged the government to replace it “at the first feasible opportunity” with a targeted program. That is the Fund’s policy position, not an outcome assessment of the first year.
What the First Year Cannot Establish
The largest gap is outcome data: no published evaluation in the supplied material measures whether Enra changed poverty, household spending, work decisions or other outcomes. Four payment rounds establish that the system operated and reached tens of thousands of people, but they do not establish what recipients did with the money or how their lives changed.
Some operational details are also unavailable. The source does not give the number of people using Lomalo, nor a full account of how payments were divided among checks, bank deposits and the wallet. It reports the final payment count and says the president described coverage as more than 95% of the resident population, but does not provide independent verification of that estimate.
Long-term funding is another open question. The second-year appropriation is confirmed in the source, but it does not establish how many years the trust fund can sustain the program or what trade-offs future budgets may involve. Nor does the available evidence show whether Enra’s design would transfer to countries facing AI-related job disruption.
Funding and Evaluation to Watch
The immediate development is the start of Enra’s second funded year, with the approved $32.5 million allocation and separate top-up. Future payment amounts will depend on the available funding and the eligible recipient count, as they did in the first year.
For a clearer assessment, readers will need published data on recipient outcomes, program administration, payment methods and the costs of continuing the scheme. The source does not identify a date for an evaluation or a scheduled policy review. The IMF’s call for a targeted replacement also leaves a policy dispute to follow: whether the government maintains the universal payment, changes its design or pursues another form of support.
Key Questions
What is Enra?
Enra is the Marshall Islands’ Individual Support Distribution, a quarterly payment for eligible Marshallese citizens who live in the country. It has no income test or work requirement.
How much did recipients receive in the first year?
The amount changed between payments. The first installment was $201.92, the March 2026 payment was about $160, and the final August payment was $215.85 per person, according to the source.
Does Enra show how countries should respond to AI job losses?
Not on the available evidence. Enra provides a nationwide case of payment delivery, but no published evaluation establishes its effects on work, poverty or household finances, and the Marshall Islands’ funding and economic circumstances differ from those of larger countries.
How is Enra funded?
The source says the program is funded through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States. The government approved $32.5 million for year two, alongside a separate $3.2 million top-up in the budget.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
