Registered accounts
Every plan you already have, and one question underneath all of them.
A registered account is a tax shelter, not an investment. What you put inside it is a separate decision — and it is the decision that determines whether your savings grow through ownership or through lending.
RRSPRegistered Retirement Savings PlanBest suited to people in their working years with taxable income, who do not expect to need this money before retirement.
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TFSATax-Free Savings AccountSuited to almost everyone. Particularly strong for younger investors with decades of compounding ahead of them.
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FHSAFirst Home Savings AccountAnyone who has not owned a home they lived in during the current year or the previous four calendar years.
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RESPRegistered Education Savings PlanAny parent or grandparent with a child under 18. The grant is the reason to act early rather than late.
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LIRALocked-In Retirement AccountAnyone holding a locked-in pension transfer who does not expect to draw on it for many years.
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RRIFRegistered Retirement Income FundRetirees who want part of their portfolio in real assets and have other holdings liquid enough to fund the annual minimum.
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LIFLife Income FundRetirees drawing a locked-in pension who want a portion in real assets.
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Spousal RRSPSpousal Registered Retirement Savings PlanCouples with a meaningful and lasting gap between their incomes.
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The full list, including the variants
The eight above are the plans most people ask about, and each has its own page. Olympia Trust, the registered plan trustee, administers these variants of them as well — if the account you hold is on this list, it can hold these units.
RetirementRRSP · Spousal RRSP · RRIF · Spousal RRIF · Prescribed RRIF
Locked-in pension moneyLIRA · LRSP · RLSP · LIF · New LIF · RLIF. Which of these applies depends on the province the pension was registered in, and on whether the money is federally regulated. Olympia confirms it when the transfer form is completed.
EducationIndividual RESP · Family RESP. A family plan covers more than one child and lets the grant follow whichever of them goes on to study.
Tax-free and first homeTFSA · FHSA
Outside a registered planIndividual · Joint · Corporate. Held directly rather than inside a shelter — no contribution room needed and no annual limit on the account itself. How a non-registered or corporate holding works.
Not sure which of these you have? Your existing statement names it, and if it does not, telephone 905 949 9119 and read us the heading — we will tell you, and it costs nothing to ask.
Which one should you use?
I am early in my career
The TFSA usually comes first. Your income — and so your marginal rate — is likely lower now than it will be later, which is exactly when the RRSP deduction is worth least.
I am mid-career with a solid income
The RRSP deduction is worth the most here. A common approach is to contribute to the RRSP and put the resulting refund into the TFSA.
I am saving for a first home
The FHSA before anything else. It is the only account that is deductible going in and tax-free coming out.
I have children
The RESP, for the government grant. It is the largest reliable return available in the Canadian system and it is not interest.
I have left an employer with a pension
A LIRA, which becomes a LIF when you begin drawing from it. The locked-in nature suits a long-horizon asset.
I am approaching 71
Your RRSP must convert to a RRIF by the end of that year. Plan the annual minimum withdrawal against anything illiquid you hold.
Ready when you are.
Four questions to see what applies to you, including which plan types you can use.
Or book fifteen minutes, or call 905 949 9119 and we will walk you through it.