You can open a managed spousal RRSP with Wealthsimple. Managed (Invest) accounts are a part of Wealthsimple's automated investing service. We manage your investments for you using a personalized portfolio of low-fee exchange-traded funds.
A spousal registered retirement savings plan (Spousal RRSP) is an RRSP that can help lighten the tax load for couples with a big income disparity.
It helps you pool your retirement savings so that the higher-income earner doesn’t have a large pile of retirement savings in their RRSP while the lower-income earner has a small pile.
Each person has a different role in a Spousal RRSP. One person is the annuitant and the other person is the contributor.
Annuitant
- The primary account owner
- Usually the partner that earns less income
- Typically* not able to make contributions to the account
- Able to make withdrawals from the account
Contributor
- The secondary account owner
- Usually the partner that earns more income
- Able to make contributions to the account, and therefore gains the tax benefits
- Not able to make withdrawals from the account
*Technically the income tax act permits annuitant contributions to Spousal RRSP, however, Wealthsimple does not have the functionality to support them. Only some financial institutions support this, most do not.
The annuitant and the contributor each need a separate Wealthsimple profile. The Spousal RRSP account opening process must be initiated from the annuitant's Wealthsimple profile.
The annuitant can complete the steps below to open a Spousal RRSP:
- Log in to your Wealthsimple account.
- Under Accounts, scroll down and select + Add an account.
- Choose RRSP from the account options menu.
- Select Next.
- Choose Spousal RRSP as the account type you'd like to open.
- Select Next.
- Follow the prompts to open the account.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my SIN required to open an account with Wealthsimple?
All registered accounts (such as a TFSA or RRSP) must be registered with the CRA. In order to register these accounts with the CRA, we require your SIN. Additionally, all non-registered accounts require that we verify your identity with a third-party credit reporting agency to follow FINTRAC identity verification rules, which also requires your SIN.
Can I convert a personal RRSP into a Spousal RRSP?
No. Personal RRSPs and Spousal RRSPs have different withdrawal considerations, and so one cannot be converted into another.
What are the fees in a Spousal RRSP with Wealthsimple?
Wealthsimple’s standard management fee for managed accounts is 0.5%. For accounts over $100,000, this fee drops down to 0.4%.
How long after I put funds into my account are they invested for me?
Once you make a deposit to a managed (Invest) account, it takes up to three days to invest your funds.
How does my secondary owner sign off on their account opening agreements?
If your secondary owner does not already have a Wealthsimple account, they will need to set one up. When you add their email during the account setup, a “shell” account is created for them. A password reset email is also sent to them, and they can login to this shell account and set up their profile after resetting their password. Once their profile is set up, they can Review agreements under the Spousal RRSP to sign off on the agreements.
If your secondary owner already has a Wealthsimple account, they can login to their Wealthsimple profile and Review agreements under the Spousal RRSP to sign off on the agreements.
Can I hold cash in my spousal RRSP instead of investing my funds?
No, there is no option to hold cash in Invest accounts. However, you can consider moving your portfolio to our high-interest savings ETF option for a no-risk investing alternative.
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