How SPOUSAL RRSPs Work
Good morning! I received some reader mail and I’ve been asked to write about spousal RRSP’s. Here it goes..
What is a Spousal RRSP?
- A spousal RRSP is where one spouse makes an RRSP contribution but the other spouse owns the plan.
Why would a married couple contribute to a spousal RRSP?
- Not all married couples should use a spousal RRSP. This only makes senses if one spouse makes significantly more income than the other.
- It provides a means of income splitting. Here in Canada, legit ways to income split are not easy to come by.
- The reason for incoming splitting is so that during retirement, both spouses will have approximately the same income thus reducing income tax.
How does it work?
- In a spousal RRSP, the higher income spouse will contribute to the plan. The higher income spouse can then claim the tax deduction.
- For all intents and purposes, the money within the spousal RRSP now belongs to the lower income spouse.
- The main caveat being that the lower income spouse cannot withdraw from the plan until 2 calendar years (Jan 1-Dec 31) after the last contribution. Otherwise, the withdrawal will be taxed in the hands of the contributer.
Personally, we don’t use spousal RRSPs because my wife and I both have approximately the same salary. However, if we decide that it would make sense for my wife to become a stay at home Mom, then you can be assured that we will use this strategy.
69 Comments, Comment or Ping
1. Steve
In regards to your statement: “This only makes senses if one spouse makes significantly more income than the other”.
It is important to note that this should not be interpreted as: “You should have a spousal RRSP if one spouse makes significantly more income than the other.”
There are cases where even in this circumstance it does not make sense to have a spousal RRSP. The key point to keep in mind is that you are using up your allowable contribution room in your RRSP when you contribute to your spouses. (If I am wrong on this let me know, but I have been told this by 2 sources.)
If you have a case where your spouse makes less money than you but neither of you has a pension, a spousal RRSP makes no difference.
Similarly if you make more than your spouse but he/she has a pension. A spousal RRSP will actually be worse.
If you make more money than your spouse, you have a pension, but your spouse doesn’t. It definitely makes sense to contribute to a spousal RRSP.
But I think the government was going to allow income splitting for retirees. In which case it makes the whole point of spousal RRSPs moot, unless you and your spouse plan on retiring early.
Feb 21st, 2007 @ 8:57 am
2. FrugalTrader
Steve: Thanks for the analysis! I should have been more clear in my article. I assumed that spousal RRSP’s worked best for stay at home spouses (ie. very low income).
Feb 21st, 2007 @ 10:02 am
3. Jeff Mackey
Current income may not be as big of a factor as anticipated retirement income. Maybe one spouse is anticipating a company pension than the other. Spousal RRSP contributions can make sense in this situation if incomes are equal.
Feb 21st, 2007 @ 10:03 am
4. Mike
Steve – you are right – contributions to a spousal account use up the contribution room of the person making the contribution.
With income splitting it’s pretty debatable if these accounts are worthwhile anymore. Even if you are planning early retirement and one account is bigger than the other – if there is enough $$ in the smaller account to support equal withdrawals until age 65 than you don’t need the spousal.
Having said that, if you already have one (as I do) then it does no harm to continue contributing to it.
Feb 21st, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
5. Mark
Stay at home strategy:
(1) high-income spouse pours money into spousal RRSP
(2) wait 2 years
(3) low-income spouse takes the money out as income uses it to pay household expenses
Feb 21st, 2007 @ 4:36 pm
6. Mike
Mark – don’t forget you would give up the spousal/dependant credit if you create income for the stay-at-home spouse. In our case it’s about $1800 for last year.
Feb 21st, 2007 @ 6:56 pm
7. Traciatim
Maybe I missed something, but didn’t the recent budget changes make it so that retirees can split income anyway? Doesn’t that make this strategy much less valid now?
Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 10:04 am
8. FrugalTrader
Traciatim: Current income splitting for retirees is for pensions ONLY, not RRSP yet.
Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 10:43 am
9. Qubikal
Mark: Can you explain why step (3) of Stay at home strategy is for the lower income spouse to pay for household expenses?
Normally, you would want the lower income spouse to invest the money and have the higher income spouse to pay for the expenses. The thought is that the investment income would be then taxed at a much lower rate. (assumes that you’re not employing the Smith Maneuver)
Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 11:23 am
10. Magnum
It was stated that the spouse can’t withdrawl for 2 years. Is the HBP exampt from that provision? Would a 90 day withdrawl be possible?
Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 3:13 pm
11. Mike
Magnum – the spouse can withdraw within 2 years but then it’s taxable in the hands of the contributor – not her.
HBP funds have to be in the rrsp for at least 90 days.
Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 10:30 pm
12. Jack
Another consideration that I didn’t see mentioned for contributing to a spousal RRSP is to balance out the RRSP holdings of each spouse. In our case, I had started working and contributing to my RRSP before my wife did (I’m 4 years older and a little more financial savvy) and have ~5x the RRSP holdings that she has. So our spousal plan is to balance out our repsective RRSP holdings faster. I also earn a higher income right now and she will be going on mat leave in a few months, so this way I can continue to contribute to her RRSP while she is not working and earning little income.
Feb 26th, 2007 @ 4:59 pm
13. Mark
I wasn’t thinking of retirees – I was thinking of my own situation: I work, though not making much, and my wife is a stay-at-home mom with no income.
Mike: is there an income threshold for the spousal/dependant credit?
Qubikal: Yes – that would be better, assuming you can pump enough money though the RRSP
Feb 27th, 2007 @ 9:42 am
14. Mike
I don’t know if there is a threshold for the spousal credit.
I make around 100k and I got about $1800 last year from it.
Feb 27th, 2007 @ 12:21 pm
15. bakeappled
FrugalTrader –
Just to clarify how the current income splitting for retirees:
Eligible pension income
For individuals aged 65 years and over, the major types of qualifying income that can be allocated to a spouse or common law partner are:
* a pension from a registered pension plan (RPP) ;
* income from a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) annuity; and
* payments out of or under a registered retirement income fund.
For individuals under 65 years of age, the major type of qualifying income that can be allocated to a spouse or common law partner is income from a pension from a registered pension plan.
Apr 19th, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
16. bakeappled
Even with unlimited retirement income splitting, a case where a spousal RRSP can still be worthwhile is when there is an age gap.
An older spouse who can no longer contribute to their own plan can still contibute to a spousal plan if they have contribution room. The more tilted the nest egg is towards the older spouse, the bigger the saving will be. The older spouse will reduce their tax bill, legally transfer assets to spouse, and defer tax (even better if the younger spouse will have a lower tax rate).
Apr 19th, 2007 @ 1:40 pm
17. SavingsJourney
Retirement splitting or not, spousal RRSP contributions should be done today where possible. My marginal tax rate is about 46%, my wife’s is about 32%. Even if the government does offer splitting in the future of RRSP’s during retirement, this is a no-brainer today where possible.
May 23rd, 2007 @ 8:52 am
18. sam
the main advantage of RRSP is tax deffered growth..more years your funds stay in RRSP,greater the benefit..but once you complete 69 years(i think it’s being changed to 71)..you have no choice but to make withdrawals..
so if your spouse is younger than..she is going to turn 69 a few years after you..so the funds can remain in RRSP for those extra years…..one more advantage of spousal RRSP
May 25th, 2007 @ 10:41 pm
19. Ed Rempel
FT – The key with spousal RRSP’s is to try to income split after you retire. The goal is to have similar taxable incomes after you retire. Consider any pensions, how much CPP each would likely get, investment and any other income either of you may have, and how much you each have in RRSP’s and try to even your incomes.
If your incomes are similar, neither of you has a pension and you are paying similar amounts into CPP, then generally you should try to keep your total RRSP’s about equal. If one spouse has noticeably less in RRSP, then you can get them closer with a spousal RRSP.
This is a separate decision from which one should make an RRSP contribution, which is based on your incomes and tax brackets today.
The retiree income splitting rules are new and may change in the future and don’t apply to all types of income. There is no disadvantage of using a spousal RRSP, so it is still generally smart to plan the same for equal retirement incomes.
Mark – Your strategy sounds good, but Mike is right that the spousal tax credit generally wipes out the advantage. It is a credit based on the lowest tax rate up to $7,500 of income (2006), which is almost the entire personal tax credit. Essentially, you or your spouse will pay 22% tax on any income she makes – including a withdrawal from a spousal RRSP if she has no other income.
Ed
May 26th, 2007 @ 11:28 pm
20. Mike
Ed: I keep hearing conflicting info on what type of income is eligible for splitting. I believe that payments from a RRIF are eligible for splitting but what about from an RRSP? I’ve heard yes and no in various media.
It’s not an overly important question since it’s no big deal converting part of an rrsp to a rrif but I’d like to know the facts!
May 27th, 2007 @ 12:27 am
24. TL
Hi FT, Thanks for posting this informative article I think it’ll be very helpful for my current and future situation.
That said, I have one question: When opening up a spousal RRSP account, would I open the account under my spouse’s name (assuming that I would be the one contributing to her account) or would it formally be under my name and would I have trading authority over her account?
Oct 22nd, 2007 @ 1:27 pm
25. FrugalTrader
TL, the application process really depends on your brokerage. In my eyes, if you pick spousal RRSP, the application process should be self explanatory. There should also be a section to name alternate trading authority.
Oct 22nd, 2007 @ 1:33 pm
29. jie
The “three-year rule” applies to spousal RRSPs regardless of when, or to which financial institution, contributions were paid.
However, this rule does not apply to withdrawals under the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) or the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP).
source: http://www.dsf-dfs.com/en-CA/Prtclrs/CnsltCntrFrmtn/CntrRrRtrt/REER/RglsRR.htm#WithdrawalfromtheSpousalRRSP
Dec 4th, 2007 @ 6:50 pm
31. nobleea
I’m still not clear here. RRIFs qualify under the pension splitting in retirement. Am I to assume that spousal rrsps are now a little unneccesary? It’s just semantics and paperwork.
Feb 1st, 2008 @ 4:19 pm
32. Traciatim
You are correct nobleea, RRIF income can be split which diminishes the spousal RRSP contributions worth. However there may be other reasons to continue keeping the RRSPs value even between spouses, one of them being that we don’t know what the rules will be when we retire.
I asked a similar question over on Preet’s site wheredoesallmymoneygo.com . . . link below:
http://www.wheredoesallmymoneygo.com/ask-a-question/post/331424
Feb 1st, 2008 @ 5:14 pm
33. FrugalTrader
Nob, you are right. RRIF withdrawals qualify as pension income, so yes, spousal RRSP’s don’t serve much purpose in the case of traditional retirement. However, I believe the earliest you can open an RRIF is 55, so the spousal RRSP can work well for those who decide to retire early.
Feb 2nd, 2008 @ 8:50 pm
34. Peter McCarthy
under what circumstances should one do a spousal RRSP? I went to scotia on friday and they told me that i shouldn’t do this until i’m 40 or 50. I’m 30.
my wife makes about 40K less than me is that enough to take advantage of spousal RRSPs? What do you think
Feb 2nd, 2008 @ 9:03 pm
35. Ed Rempel
Hi all,
Spousal RRSPs can still be useful, since not nearly all income in retirement can be split.
The purpose of spousal RRSPs is to try to keep the taxable income or 2 spouses similar in retirement. Your higher income is only one factor, Peter. You should look at all factors and project what your retirment incomes are likely to be.
Consider your total RRSP’s vs your wife’s, how much pension income you may get from your jobs or the government, and any other income or investments either of you may have now or before you retire.
The Scotia person’s answer is simplistic and shows they don’t understand at all. Age is not really relevant, except that it is sometimes easier to project your retirement incomes when retirement gets closer.
Regular RRIF income and pensions can be split, but not most other income, including investment income, lump sum withdrawals from RRIFs or RRSPs, employment income or other retirement benefits. So, having some of your retirement income split does not necessarily mean your taxable incomes are effectively split.
As FT mentioned, the split only applies at age 65 and not to anyone that may retire early.
Because of these factors and because the rules may change again, we still consider it adviseable to use spousal RRSPs to plan to equalize our clients’ retirement taxable incomes.
If you both don’t have a pension or any other specific income you expect in retirement, and if you expect similar amounts for OAS & CPP, then it is relatively simple and you should try to keep the total RRSPs in each of your names at similar levels.
Ed
Feb 2nd, 2008 @ 11:54 pm
36. al
simply put :
income:
1-husaband 155,000 $
2-wife : no income
Sousal RRSP:
opened dec/2007 for 20,000 $
if, withdrawed on jan/2010
then how much can she withdraw (net) ?
thank you
Feb 15th, 2008 @ 2:13 pm
37. FrugalTrader
al, your wife can withdraw as much of the RRSP as she likes. The biggest question is WHEN she withdraws the funds relative to when the funds were first deposited. As indicated in the article, your wife can withdraw the funds 2 calendar years from deposit and the money will be taxed in her hands.
In your scenario, it “seems” like you may pass the test. However, I would double check with a tax professional to be sure.
Feb 15th, 2008 @ 7:34 pm
38. al
thank you FT for your rersponse,
so, if my wife withdraw 5000$$ jan/2 and another 4000 the very next day minus the refundable 10% withholding tax,
would this affect my spousal tax credit when i file for my tax then?
p.s if yes,based on the total income , how much would i lose ?
Feb 15th, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
39. FrugalTrader
Al, the RRSP withdrawal would be counted as income, so yes, it would reduce your spousal tax credit.
See these posts for more info:
http://www.milliondollarjourney.com/stay-at-home-with-the-kids-or-work.htm
http://www.milliondollarjourney.com/spousal-amount-uccb-and-cctb.htm
Feb 15th, 2008 @ 9:31 pm
40. Michael Wood
If you do the income split with low-income spouse, it seems to me to make sense to do the following:
ALL RRSP Contributions go to Spousal until it’s approx $35k (or double that, your choice).
…Wait 2 years
Pull $35k from Spouse (as income) year 1
Pull $35k from Spouse (as income) year 2
Rinse and repeat. Lather if necessary.
WHY $35k? This maxes the lowest marginal tax bracket for the high-income person, making their “effective taxes” 16% for that initial $70k, then a big jump of course for the subsequent dollars.
This is a heck of a lot better than a measly $1600 dependent claim.
Canada: The land of “Individual Taxation” when beneficial to Revenue Canada, and the land of “Family Taxation” for benefits to the family (GST Rebate etc). Expletives deleted.
Sep 11th, 2008 @ 4:21 am
41. Rose
what happens to the funds that are in a spousal rrsp on marriage breakdown
Oct 20th, 2008 @ 12:51 pm
42. Chuck
Rose: They’re still considered a matrimonial asset and as such would be included in the assets to be divided at the time of a marriage breakdown.
Oct 20th, 2008 @ 5:43 pm
43. Rej
Can someone explain what happens to contribution room in a spousal RRSP. I understand the contributing spouse needs to have the room to contribute to his/her spouses RRSP but does this only affect the contribution room of the contributing spouse or do both get affected.
Thanks
Nov 2nd, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
44. cannon_fodder
Rej,
Contributing to your spouse’s RRSP only affects your contribution room.
Nov 3rd, 2008 @ 1:15 am
45. Elman
please help me, do they track which contribution my spouse take out from the spousal rrsp. example: I put 5k 3 years ago on the spousal rrsp which is locked in a 5 year GIC at ING. this year I will put 2k into the spousal rrsp and will only put it in a high interest rrsp ING savings account. So now my spouse has a total of 7k in her spousal rrsp. If my spouse a month later took out 2k from the spousal rrsp savings account, will that 2k be considered her income or mine ?
Jan 16th, 2009 @ 4:06 pm
46. nobleea
Elman;
The income would be considered yours under attribution rules. It would only qualify as her income if she took it out 3 years after the last contribution you made.
Jan 16th, 2009 @ 4:12 pm
47. Elman
Thanks Noblea.
How about this example
I contributed to the spousal rrsp:
Jan 2000 – $5000
Jan 2001 – $5000
Jan 2002 – $5000
Jan 2003 – $5000
Jan 2008 – $2000
my wife withdrew $15000 on March 2008. Is the $15000 considered her income or mine ?
or maybe its considered $13000 her income and $2000 mine ?
Jan 16th, 2009 @ 4:51 pm
48. nobleea
i believe 13K would be considered her income and 2K would be yours under attribution rules.
Jan 16th, 2009 @ 5:07 pm
49. al
hi FT,
i just received “RRSP INFORMATION FOR 2008″
on my last “Notice of assessment” my RRSP limit was 15619 for the tax year of 2008
but on this RRSP DEDUCTION LIMIT STATEMENT THAT I RECEIVED YESTERDAY IT SAID AT THE BOTTOM:
RRSP DEDUCTION LIMIT FOR 2008 ……….. $41,177 (a)
P.S 2008 total pension adjustment reversal … $25,558
so my question ,should i go and use my 41,177 and get my fat deductions or just stick to 15,619 that i already used in my rrsp invest. account !
thank you
Jan 17th, 2009 @ 4:55 pm
50. LostMan
Hey I wonder if you could give me some advice?I am 42 years old wife is forty one.I make 65000 a year she makes 25000.We just paid of our mortgage, and want to start an RRSP for her(I have a company pension)she has none.Should I contribute to spousal RRSP?
Jan 21st, 2009 @ 8:35 pm
51. DAvid
LostMan,
Do you mean you want to use the small amount of RSP room you have left after your company pension contribution reduces it, thus lowering your taxes, or do you want to give money to your wife so she can use up all the accumulated RSP allowance she has from years past, thus possibly reducing her tax payable to zero for the next few years?
Spousal RSP uses your contribution room to fund a spouses RSP. You might want to look at a combination of options, to reduce both of your taxes payable to the greatest amount possible — maybe it’s time to play with some tax software, or contact a tax wiz!
I suggest contributing fully to your RSP to get the tax break, and maxing your wife’s by putting as much as yo can into it, and claiming enough each year to get the best tax benefit for her.
DAvid
Jan 21st, 2009 @ 9:48 pm
52. Metta
Hi,
Can someone explain dependent/spousal credit? I have heard about tax credit for dependents, but not for no income spouses. I have no idea of what it is but it might apply to me. I’m a stay home mom with no income except the universal child care benefit and interests earned from our savings. My husband makes about 85K annually. He contributes to spousal RRSP. He’s a lawyer so he will be much higher income than I. Thanks so much.
Jan 30th, 2009 @ 10:00 pm
53. FrugalTrader
Metta, the spousal credit is for situations just like yours. I’ve written an article about it here:
http://www.milliondollarjourney.com/spousal-amount-uccb-and-cctb.htm
Jan 31st, 2009 @ 9:42 am
54. cannon_fodder
Lostman/DAvid,
I almost never disagree with DAvid, but I will this time.
Because you have a pension and your wife does not, I suggest that your wife does not contribute to an RRSP but rather a TFSA. In fact, you could give her the money to put into a TFSA.
If you are going to put any money into an RRSP it should be a spousal RRSP in order to balance out your retirement incomes somewhat.
I wouldn’t be able to suggest whether you should first put $ into a spousal RRSP first and then into a TFSA because I don’t have enough information. However, if forced to, my recommendation would be maximum contributions to TFSA’s for both of you first, and then if you have any money left over, contribute to a spousal RRSP.
This will give you signficant non-taxable income in retirement and, according to the experts, RRSP’s are only preferred for those in higher income tax brackets that also reinvest the tax refunds from the RRSP’s (which could be applicable to you, but not your wife due to her $25k income).
Perhaps this calculator might help (it’s not ideal since it doesn’t allow you to put in info for both you and your spouse so you will likely have to run the scenarios for both you and your wife separately and combine the results) -
http://www.taxtips.ca/calculators/tfsavsrrspcalculator.htm
Jan 31st, 2009 @ 11:18 am
55. RC
I’ve read through all the scenarios and had a quesion.
I am interested in using a spousal RRSP to save money for a house. If I contribute to my spouses RRSP; then I can still reduce my tax rate; but my spouse’s contribution room stays the same.
The source from Desjard’s bank shows that you don’t have to wait the 3yrs to withdraw for the HBP. Is there some other source that can show this is true?
If I buy RRSPs for myself; and give my spouse money to buy his own; then it will take much longer to get the full amount under HBP (his contribution room is much less; and so is his income)
Would it be better to max out on his contribution room and then use my room for his rrsp?
Appreciate the help!
Feb 3rd, 2009 @ 5:46 pm
56. DK
RC,
You do not have to wait 3 years to withdraw from spousal RRSP under HBP. If you are the higher earner and have more contribution room, your spouse should open a spousal RRSP – he will be the annuitant, you will be the contributor.
Your strategy should be for you to contribute to your spouse’s spousal RRSP AND your individual RRSP until both are at $25,000 (the maximum allowed to be withdrawn under the HBP) which will give you $50,000 of down-payment money, while ensuring you get the maximum possible tax deduction.
I am currently employing a similar strategy.
Feb 4th, 2009 @ 7:24 pm
57. dm
My wife and I have an amicable separation involving young children. I turn 65 next year and am wondering if I can purchase a spousal RRSP even though we are living separately. She is not working and could cash it in in 3 years as part of child support, while I could benifit from the tax break as I intend to continue working.
As well, if this is possible, am I correct in assuming that she must have RRSP room for me to do this?
Feb 19th, 2009 @ 1:10 am
58. FrugalTrader
dm, i’m not sure about the separation issue and taxes, but the contribution room is based on you, not your spouse.
Feb 19th, 2009 @ 10:33 am
59. ankur
hi,
i have to make a contribution to RRSP say approx 6000 and for my wife approx 1500, will it be beneficial to have spousal rrsp or shall we contribute individually, my income is 46K and my wife’s income is 10K, please advice
Feb 24th, 2009 @ 12:31 am
60. Traciatim
Ankur, though every situation is different and I’m not sure what you are using the RRSP for in the future (IE, buying a house etc), but it probably makes sense for both of your contributions come from your income in this case, as more tax would be reduced.
You have to keep in mind the attribution rules if you are planning on using this money in the near future.
Feb 24th, 2009 @ 7:40 pm
61. buyer1time
My situation is somewhat similar related to what DK/RC had mentioned. I have already put in 25K into RRSP to take advantage of HBP. I opened a spousal RRSP and put in the 7K which maxes out my contribution room. My spouse opened a RRSP and put in her max amount which was only 1K.
My question is since my Spouse and I could only put in 8K into spousal/her RRSP how can I somehow benefit by putting in additional amount into my spousal RRSP to make it 25K so that we could benefit taking out a totak of 25K + 25K for HPB
Note : We were planning to buy a house at towards the end of the year.
Feb 26th, 2009 @ 1:17 pm
62. Dk
buyertime,
If I were in your situation I would figure out what my 2009 contribution room will be (I believe QuickTax will do this for you) and contribute that amount now into the spousal.
Feb 27th, 2009 @ 12:49 pm
63. Dk
And then of course I would file a T1213 with CRA along with proof of the 2009 contribution so that I get the benefit of the contribution sooner, and invest THAT in my TFSA since I’ve already maxed out my RRSP for 2009. See here for the CRA form:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/t1213/README.html
Feb 27th, 2009 @ 1:17 pm
64. Moe
FT, being married definitely helps in the finances department, as is proven by the Economist. http://www.economist.com/daily/chartgallery/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13636078
May 12th, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
65. Rais
Hi,
My most recent Notice Of Assessment shows my RRSP limit as $20,000 and my wife’s Notice Of Assessment shows her RRSP limit as $1,500.
Is it possible that I pay $21,500 ($20,000 for myself and $1500 for spousal RRSP) and get a tax deduction on $21,500?
All the discussions above say that if I pay for my wife’s RRSP, my contribution room will get reduced. Does it mean, that I can pay a maximum of $20,000 irrespective of whether its going towards my RRSP or my wife’s RRSP?
Thanks
Jul 4th, 2009 @ 11:04 pm
66. FrugalTrader
Rais, a spousal RRSP is totally separate than your wife’s personal RRSP. My understanding is that when you contribute to a spousal RRSP, it will reduce “your” RRSP contribution limit, but you get the tax deduction.
Jul 5th, 2009 @ 9:23 am
67. Sharon Monahan
Hi,
My husband will soon receive a large severance package of which a portion is eligible for direct transfer to rrsp’s and the remainder can be transferred also as he has enough rrsp room. As I am in a much lower tax bracket we would like to transfer an amount to a spousal rrsp.(with the hope that we could withdraw after two years and pay less taxes). Is this possible?
Thank you. Sharon
Sep 11th, 2009 @ 9:05 pm
68. FrugalTrader
Sharon, providing that your family can open a spousal RRSP and have the RRSP room, I don’t see why you can’t deposit some of the severance money into a spousal RRSP.
Sep 11th, 2009 @ 9:25 pm
69. DK
Sharon,
You should have your husband confirm with his former employer that the funds can be transferred to an RRSP in your name (i.e. you are the annuitant) before you go to the trouble of opening a spousal RRSP. Other than that there should be no problem with your plan.
Sep 14th, 2009 @ 1:16 pm
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