Best RRSP Accounts and Rates in Canada for 2024 - NerdWallet (2024)

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A registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) is a tax-advantaged way to save and invest for retirement.

If you’re just starting out, a high-interest RRSP account is a safe and easy way to build up your nest egg before locking away those precious funds in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.

• The best high-interest RRSPs in Canada
• Top high-interest RRSP rates in Canada
• Things to know about registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs)

Top high-interest RRSP rates in Canada

**Not available to Quebec residents.

Things to know about registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs)

By Helen Burnett-Nichols

What is an RRSP?

An RRSP is a savings plan registered with the Canadian government that you can contribute to until age 71. The plan allows you to hold investments and put money aside for retirement on a tax-deferred basis. You can deduct contributions made to the account annually from your taxable income.

Types of RRSPs

There are three different types of RRSPs:

An individual RRSP is a plan held in your name, and you receive tax benefits. This type of plan is the most common and offers the most flexibility for investment decisions, such as the RBC RRSP account — if you’re someone who likes big banks.

A spousal RRSP allows one partner — usually earning a higher income — to contribute to an RRSP in their spouse’s name. The contributor receives the tax deduction, but the benefiting spouse owns the investments inside the RRSP. Spousal RRSPs also offer tax advantages to families during retirement by letting spouses split income more evenly.

A group RRSP is an employer-managed plan which involves holding an individual RRSP at a financial institution. Contributions come from your pay, and, in some cases, your employer may match. You will likely have limited choices over the investments held in the plan.

» MORE: What are registered pension plans?

What is the best way to invest in an RRSP?

An RRSP can hold different investments, including mutual funds, stocks and cash. The interest or returns you earn depend on the type of RRSP account and how you choose to hold your investments.

You can elect to have investments managed by an advisor at a financial institution, like a bank or credit union. Or, you could choose a self-directed plan, where you make your own investment decisions, often for a lower fee. Both full-service or discount brokerages typically offer self-directed RRSPs.

An RRSP can hold several types of qualified investments, including:

• Cash, often held in a high-interest RRSP savings account
• Canadian and foreign equities
• Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
• Guaranteed investment certificates (GICs)
• Savings bonds, government bonds and corporate bonds
• Treasury bills
• Eligible mutual funds

The rates of return on the investments vary greatly, depending on what you choose to hold in your plan. Furthermore, the value of your RRSP may not be guaranteed to go up and may decrease in value, especially if you own stocks.

What is a high-interest RRSP savings account?

High-interest RRSP savings accounts help account holders save regularly for retirement. They are essentially just like a regular high-interest savings account but offer a better interest rate than non-registered accounts.

This option is ideal for those looking to put money aside while considering what they want to do with their funds over the longer term.

» See our picks: The best high-interest savings accounts in Canada

How high-interest RRSPs work

High-interest RRSPs may not charge any monthly fees or require a minimum balance or contribution but still provide tax benefits.

Some high-interest RRSPs provide a tiered interest rate structure that offers higher rates as your savings increase. Compounding interest rates (calculated daily and paid monthly) on RRSP savings accounts vary by financial institution.

How to open an RRSP

You’re eligible to open and contribute to an RRSP until December 31 of the year you turn 71, as long as you earned income and filed an income tax return in Canada the previous year. Children under 18 are also eligible to open an RRSP with the consent of their parent or legal guardian if they have created RRSP contribution room by earning income and filing a tax return with the CRA.

Opening an RRSP involves filling out an application, which many providers will allow you to do online. The institution will probably ask you about your investment knowledge and financial goals. You will need your previous tax year’s Notice of Assessment and information about who you’d like to select as your beneficiary.

» MORE: What is a tax return?

How to choose and compare RRSPs

Before choosing an RRSP, consider what you’re looking to include in the plan and how hands-on you would like to manage your investments. For example, are you looking to self-direct your portfolio, or would you like an advisor to manage funds on your behalf? Are you interested in a plan that operates like a savings account, or would you prefer access to a full suite of investment products?

Once you’ve determined how you approach RRSP investing, you can compare providers and accounts. Be sure to look at account fees, the investment types offered, and the rates of return.

How to use an RRSP

RRSP contributions

Once you have opened an RRSP account, you can contribute to your plan through your bank account or investment account online, or via your advisor. You can also set up regular pre-authorized debits or make a lump sum contribution before the RRSP deadline.

Your annual RRSP contribution room will be made up of 18% of your earned income in the previous year, up to a maximum contribution amount that changes yearly (for the 2023 tax year, this amount is $30,780). If you didn’t make your maximum contribution in previous years, you’re able to carry any unused contribution room forward to use this year or in future tax years until age 71.

You can also have more than one RRSP, but your annual contribution limit stays the same, whether you’re contributing to one plan or three.

If you over-contribute to your RRSP, the Canada Revenue Agency will tax the excess amount at 1% per month. You can overcontribute by $2,000 without a penalty. However, you won’t get a tax break on the extra contribution.

» Get ready: How to prepare for the 2023 RRSP deadline

RRSP and taxes

Each year you contribute to your RRSP, your financial institution will send you two statements. These statements will show your contributions — from March 2 to December 31 of the previous year and for the first 60 days of the current year — which you can claim on line 20800 of your tax return to reduce last year’s net taxable income. You can also choose to claim your contributions in future tax years.

RRSP withdrawals

RRSPs are designed to help save for retirement, so taking money out of an RRSP earlier than intended will cost you unless the funds are for the Home Buyer’s Plan or the Lifelong Learning Plan.

First, early withdrawals are subject to withholding tax of 10%-30% (or 5%-15% in Quebec), which your financial institution will remit to the government on your behalf. The withdrawn amount is also considered taxable income, which you must declare on your tax return.

Your RRSP reaches maturity on December 31 of the year you turn 71. At this point, you must withdraw the funds. You have a few options regarding what to do next:

• Take a lump sum payment, which will be subject to withholding tax and added to your income for the year.
• Convert your RRSP to a registered retirement income fund (RRIF), which will require you to make annual minimum withdrawals that are included in your taxable income each year but are not subject to withholding tax.
• Purchase an annuity, which offers a guaranteed income for life or for a specified period, not subject to withholding tax, but you may have to pay tax on the income payments.

» Just because you can doesn’t mean you should: What you should know about RRSP withdrawals

RRSP benefits/advantages:

One of the main advantages of an RRSP is the tax benefits it offers, both when you contribute and when you withdraw the funds in retirement. For example, each RRSP contribution reduces your net taxable income.

Money held within an RRSP — both the amount you contribute and any capital gains, dividends or interest on those funds — is also sheltered from tax until you take it out of the plan. If you withdraw RRSP funds when you retire, you may be in a lower tax bracket than when you contributed the money and will therefore pay less tax on the withdrawal.

» MORE: 10 ways to make the most of your RRSP

RRSP benefits/advantages compared to the TFSA

While RRSPs and tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) are both registered savings vehicles, they offer investors different benefits, especially tax perspectives.

• Whereas RRSP contributions are tax-deductible, any money you put into your TFSA is not.
• When you withdraw money from your RRSP, you pay tax, though possibly at a lower rate if you’re retired. TFSA withdrawals are always tax-free, as you’ve already paid tax on the money you’ve invested.
• With the rules around withdrawals, RRSPs are designed for retirement savings, while you can use TFSAs for any savings goal.

» See our picks: Canada’s Best High-Interest TFSAs