Overview

You can withdraw funds from your registered education savings plan (RESP) for educational purposes, non-educational purposes, or as an Accumulated Income Payment (AIP). The type of withdrawal determines what funds you can access and the tax implications.

Educational Assistance Payment (EAP) withdrawals

An Educational Assistance Payment (EAP) is a withdrawal from your RESP made to help your beneficiary pay for post-secondary education expenses.

EAPs include government grants and accumulated investment income from your RESP. EAP amounts count as taxable income for the beneficiary in the year the payment is made. We'll issue a T4A slip (or an RL-1 slip for Quebec residents) in the beneficiary's name.

How to request an EAP withdrawal

You can now initiate an EAP withdrawal directly in the Wealthsimple app. Withdrawals are sent to your Wealthsimple chequing account only.

1. Log in to the Wealthsimple app
2. Select the Move tab
3. Tap Transfer money
4. Select your RESP as the source and your Chequing account as the destination
5. Select Educational Assistance Payment (EAP) as your withdrawal reason
6. Select your beneficiary
7. Enter your educational program information
8. Upload your Proof of Enrolment (applies only to the first EAP or PSE withdrawal per beneficiary)
   • Our team will review your document within 1–3 business days and notify you by email of the outcome.
   • If approved, return to the app to complete steps 9–10. If rejected, correct your document and resubmit.
9. Enter your withdrawal amount (once your PoE is approved)
10. Review and confirm your withdrawal

Proof of Enrolment (PoE)

For your first educational withdrawal (EAP or PSE) per beneficiary, you'll be asked to upload a Proof of Enrolment document in the app. The document must include:

1. Beneficiary's full name
2. School name and logo (on official institutional letterhead)
3. Name of program
4. Term start and end dates (current academic period)
5. Full-time or part-time status

Once you submit your document we'll review it manually. The target review time is under 24 hours, but please allow 1–3 business days. You'll receive a push notification and email once your PoE is approved, and you can return to complete the withdrawal.

Once approved, your PoE is valid for approximately 6 months and can be reused for any educational withdrawal (EAP or PSE) across any RESP your beneficiary is on. You won't need to upload a new document for subsequent withdrawals unless your PoE expires or the beneficiary's program changes.

Post-Secondary Education (PSE) withdrawals

A Post-Secondary Education (PSE) withdrawal is a return of the original contributions you've made to your RESP. PSE amounts are tax-free, so no T4A slip is issued.

You can initiate a PSE withdrawal directly in the Wealthsimple app. Withdrawals are sent to your Wealthsimple chequing account only. Like EAP withdrawals, PSE withdrawals also require a Proof of Enrolment upload for the first withdrawal per beneficiary.

How to request a PSE withdrawal

For details on how to complete this in-app, see the steps below. For account types not yet supported, see Limitations for in-app RESP withdrawals.

1. Log in to the Wealthsimple app
2. Select the Move tab
3. Tap Transfer money
4. Select your RESP as the source and your Chequing account as the destination
5. Select Post-Secondary Education (PSE) as your withdrawal reason
6. Select your beneficiary
7. Enter your educational program information
8. Upload your Proof of Enrolment (applies only to the first EAP or PSE withdrawal per beneficiary)
   • Our team will review your document within 1–3 business days and notify you by email of the outcome.
   • If approved, return to the app to complete steps 9–10. If rejected, correct your document and resubmit.
9. Enter your withdrawal amount (once your PoE is approved)
10. Review and confirm your withdrawal

After you submit your EAP or PSE withdrawal

Once your withdrawal is processed, you'll see the beneficiary name and total EAP amount in your Activity Feed in the Wealthsimple mobile app. Note that:

• The activity feed doesn't show RESP withdrawal details on web yet.
• The breakdown between grants and investment income isn't shown in the app. To get a detailed breakdown, you can generate a contribution statement PDF from your account documents, or contact our support team.

Limitations for in-app RESP withdrawals

The following are not yet supported in the mobile EAP and PSE flow and still require a manual process via our support team:

• Joint (two-subscriber) RESP accounts: must be processed manually
• New SDI RESP (Individual for Someone Else): this account type is not yet supported for in-app withdrawals; please contact support to process your withdrawal manually
• Quebec beneficiaries with QESI (Quebec Education Savings Incentive) grants: not yet supported in the in-app withdrawal flow; please contact support to process your withdrawal manually
• RESPs transferred to Wealthsimple from another institution before November 2025: not yet supported in the in-app withdrawal flow; please contact support to process your withdrawal manually
• Withdrawals to external bank accounts: EAP and PSE withdrawals can only be sent to a Wealthsimple chequing account at this time. You may withdraw to your external bank from a Wealthsimple chequing account.
• Non-educational withdrawals and AIPs: see sections below
  • Single-owner educational withdrawal RESP form
  • Joint owner educational withdrawal RESP form

Withdrawing funds for non-educational purposes

You can withdraw the contributions you've made to your RESP for non-educational purposes before your beneficiary turns 21. When you make this type of withdrawal:

• Any corresponding government grants must be returned to the government. We'll help you do this when you request a withdrawal. If you are closing the account, all grants must be returned in full.
• Any corresponding investment earnings (gains) from your investments will need to remain in the account. If you're closing the account, you're required to gift the gains to an educational institution.

How to request a non-educational withdrawal

You must fill out our non-educational RESP withdrawal form to submit your request:

• Single-owner non-educational withdrawal RESP form
• Joint owner non-educational withdrawal RESP form

Withdraw earnings as an Accumulated Income Payment (AIP)

An AIP is a withdrawal of the investment earnings accumulated in your RESP (not your original contributions). AIPs are considered taxable income to the account owner and are subject to an additional 20% tax (or 12% in Quebec). However, you can avoid this penalty tax by transferring the AIP funds directly to your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) or spousal RRSP, up to a maximum of $50,000, provided you have enough RRSP contribution room.

Eligibility

You may be able to make an AIP withdrawal if:

• The RESP account has been open for at least 10 years
• All current or former beneficiaries are 21 or older
• All current or former beneficiaries are no longer pursuing post-secondary education
• You're not naming another eligible beneficiary of the RESP

Before we can process an AIP, you must repay all government grant funds (including CESG, CLB, and BCTESG) to the government.

How to request an AIP withdrawal

You must fill out our AIP RESP withdrawal form to submit your request:

• Single-owner AIP withdrawal RESP form
• Joint owner AIP withdrawal RESP form

After you submit your request

Once you've submitted a DocuSign form (for non-educational withdrawals or AIPs), our team will handle the rest. You don't have to reach out to our support team after completing them.

RESP withdrawals processed via form can take up to 7 business days. If anything else is required, our team will reach out via email.

For in-app EAP and PSE withdrawals, processing times may vary. You'll be notified via push notification and email at key steps, including when your Proof of Enrolment is approved and when your withdrawal is complete.