rrsp

The following are relatively common mistakes that Canadians make annually when contributing to their Registered Retirement Savings Plans.

1. Reporting RRSP contributions based on a calendar year.

While your taxes are based on a calendar year, the reporting of your RRSP contributions extends 60 days into the New Year. Imagine, for RRSP purposes, that you have your own fiscal year that begins in early March or 60 days after January 1. RRSP receipts for the first 60 days of 2020 should be reported on your 2019 income tax return.

Introduced in 1957, the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is an incentive program to entice the Canadian population to save for retirement. In order to get the most from this type of savings vehicle, it is essential to plan future investments and avoid panicking to meet deadlines or taking action without fully understanding the long-term effects.

Let’s take a look at some of the most practical investment strategies to get the most from a savings scheme like the RRSP:

I am continually amazed at the number of people, who have high incomes and savings, that fail to take full advantage of the preferential tax treatment of RRSPs versus other types of investment or savings accounts. This is especially true for business owners who often have retained earnings in their corporations while also having massive amounts, sometimes $50,000 or more, in unused RRSP contribution room.

With the lifetime contribution room of a TFSA now at $52,000 for most people, TFSAs are now a serious portfolio and investment planning alternative to making RRSP contributions. So which is better you ask? Well, it depends…

If you are a Canadian with significant assets and savings then maximizing your TFSA makes sense as a retirement income planning strategy. The income from it during your retirement years is non-taxable and will not trigger any Old Age Security clawback which starts at $74,780 in 2017.

Since its inception several decades ago, the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) has become the most widely used retirement savings vehicle in Canada. In order to get the most from an RRSP, it is essential to plan ahead for future investments to avoid panicked deadline decisions or taking action without fully understanding the long-term impact.

In this article we examine a number of different RRSP savings strategies:

Let us discuss a scenario that faces a high number of retirees and soon-to-be-retirees all over the country. You have spent years saving for your retirement and you have made smart decisions about using the power of RRSPs to accumulate a significant nest egg.

But now you’re unsure about how best to get income from your investment portfolio as your retirement day comes ever closer. In terms of your RRSP investments, as a decision must be made before the last day of the year during which the account holder turns 71.

Since their introduction in 1957 as an incentive to save for retirement, Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) have evolved into the most popular savings vehicles in Canada. All too often, though, RRSP decisions are made in a panic to meet a deadline, with little or no planning or understanding of the effects of our actions.

Here are a few top strategies to help you get the most from your RRSP and retirement plans:

Investors who start saving at a young age automatically have one of the most powerful assets on their side: Time. To get ahead financially, young adults should beware of some of the most common pitfalls discussed below that can all too easily sabotage a financial success strategy.