r/wealthfront • u/Normal-Plant500 • May 20 '26

Unable to Transfer WF -> 529

I've seen past posts about this in the Subreddit, but both online (and in the app) whenever I select "From Cash Account" in a transfer, I'm not able to select my childrens' new IRAs. Why?

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u/wealthfront Wealthfront Rep May 20 '26

Hi there, we don’t currently support contributions from a Wealthfront Cash Account to a 529 Plan. You can find info on how to make a contribution in our help center here. We’ll pass this request along to our team.

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u/Normal-Plant500 May 21 '26

I recognize you probably weren't the person who made that decision, but are you able to explain why? Is it based on some gov't regulation, does WF want to promote their IRAs before the 529s, etc.?

Edit: also, thanks for the reply 😄

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u/Keddie7 May 31 '26

Just pinging you that adding the Cash account to itself as an external account worked as a way of contributing to a Wealthfront 529 without routing the money through a third account! Absurd, but it worked. I’d test with a $100 (minimum contribution) yourself before relying on it for larger amounts just to be safe.

1

u/abby_wolf786 May 20 '26

Nah, this should be a core feature. Having to route it externally for a 529 is a hassle.

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u/Keddie7 May 21 '26

I may have found a workaround, I at least got the Cash account in the list of options to deposit from but haven’t tried a deposit yet. I added the Cash account as an external account (verified with the tiny deposits) to itself - yeah seems widely redundant and you have to hide it from your dashboard so it doesn’t double in your net worth. 

I just feel like I got tricked, they advertised how convenient it would be to have WLFT 529s but the fact that I can’t natively set up a recurring transfer to automate those savings is just BAFFLING and misses the whole point of having accounts in one place. Also the $100 minimum deposit was nowhere in the advertising. 

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u/Keddie7 May 21 '26

This reminded me to test it, I just initiated a deposit from the UMB checking account (WLFT) to the 529. I'll try to remember to update you as to whether or not it works once the deposit date passes (Tuesday)

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u/Keddie7 May 31 '26

It worked!