Contributions and grants in your RESP

Once you open your RESP, you can start contributing funds and receiving grants from the government.

Any contributions you make to your RESP are made in the name of an individual beneficiary, even in a Family RESP. You can contribute a lifetime maximum of $50,000 per beneficiary to an RESP. If you have more than one RESP open for a single beneficiary, make sure that the total contributions do not go over the lifetime maximum.

Grants offered through Wealthsimple

Tip: Grants such as the CEGS and A-CESG are received as a percentage of your annual RESP contributions, and have a maximum amount that will be matched each year. Keep this in mind when making a deposit to your RESP.

Canadian Education Savings Grant (CESG)

What is the CESG?
The CESG is an annual government matching program. Most people that sign up for an RESP want to apply for this grant. The government will match 20% of your contributions up to a maximum of $500 per beneficiary per year. To get the $500 grant, you would need to deposit $2500 to your RESP each year. There is a lifetime maximum grant size of $7,200 per beneficiary.

Who is eligible for the CESG?
All Canadian children are eligible for the CESG. Children can receive this grant every year until they reach the age of 17. However, there are additional contribution requirements for beneficiaries who are 16 or 17 years old.

When can you apply for the CESG?
Every time you make a deposit to your RESP, you can apply for the CESG. Wealthsimple will automatically apply for the CESG on your behalf You can expect to see the CESG grant in your RESP 6-10 weeks after making a deposit to your RESP with Wealthsimple.

How do you apply for the CESG?
When you open your RESP with Wealthsimple, we’ll ask you to fill out the CEGS application forms as a part of your account opening. Wealthsimple will take the information provided on these forms and automatically apply for the CESG on your behalf every time you make a deposit.

Making up for missed years
Each year, your beneficiary(s) can earn the maximum $500 grant when you contribute $2,500 per beneficiary in your RESP. However, if you missed a year or two in contributions, you can make up for unused CESG one year at a time.

Example: Let’s say you open an RESP for your five-year-old child, and wish to make up for all lost years of CESG.
  • The first year you open the RESP (when the child is five), you can contribute $2,500 to earn them CESG for year 5 of their life. You can also make up for one lost year, and contribute an additional $2,500, earning them CESG for year 1.
  • The next year (when the child is six), you can contribute $2,500 to earn them CESG for year 6 of their life. You can also make up for one lost year, and contribute an additional $2,500, earning them CESG for year 2.
  • The third year (when the child is seven), you can contribute $2,500 to earn them CESG for year 7 of their life. You can also make up for one lost year, and contribute an additional $2,500, earning them CESG for year 3.
  • The fourth year (when the child is eight), you can contribute $2,500 to earn them CESG for year 8 of their life. You can also make up for one lost year, and contribute an additional $2,500, earning them CESG for year 4. You have now caught up for all lost years.
  • The fifth year (when the child is nine), you can contribute $2,500 to earn them CESG for year 9 of their life. As you have caught up for all previous years, this is now the maximum amount you can contribute.

Additional Canada Education Savings Grant (A-CESG)

What is the A-CESG?
The A-CESG is an additional amount of CESG available to low-income and middle-income families depending on family income levels and contributions.

Who is eligible for the A-CESG?
In order to be eligible for the A-CESG, you must meet income requirements set by the government.

When can you apply for the A-CESG?
If you are eligible, every time you make a deposit to your RESP, you can apply for the A-CESG.

How do you apply for the A-CESG?
When you open your RESP with Wealthsimple, you will fill out the CEGS application forms as a part of your account opening. Make sure to leave the box I DO NOT want to request the additional CESG for this RESP unchecked. Wealthsimple will then take the information provided on these forms and automatically apply for the CESG and A-CESG on your behalf every time you make a deposit.

British Columbia Training and Education Savings Grant (BCTESG)

What is the BCTESG?
The BCTESG is a one-time grant of $1,200 from the British Columbia government.

Who is eligible for the BCTESG?
Children that live in British Columbia and are between the ages of six and nine are eligible for the BCTESG.

When can you apply for the BCTESG?
You can apply for the BCTESG once your beneficiary is between the ages of six and nine. When your child reaches the eligible age, we will need a BC ID or another proof of address for the account holder. We can then send out the application and apply on your behalf.

How do you apply for the BCTESG?
If you live in BC when you open an RESP, we'll ask you to sign an Annex D form via DocuSign. Once your beneficiary is eligible for this grant, we will also request a valid BC ID or proof of address for the account holder. This allows us to apply for the BCTESCG on your behalf.

If you move to BC after creating your account, please contact our support team so that we can help you fill out this form.

Canada Learning Bond (CLB)

What is the CLB?
The CLB is an annual grant for lower-income families that meet the government’s eligibility requirements. Each child can receive up to $500 the first year they are eligible and $100 each subsequent year they are eligible until they turn 15. Each child can receive a lifetime maximum of $2,000.

Who is eligible for the CLB?
The eligibility for the CLB is based on the number of children in a family compared to their total family income. As this is an annual grant, if a family meets the adjusted income requirement defined by the Government of Canada one year and not the other, they can receive the grant during the year that they are eligible.

When can you apply for the CLB?
If you are eligible for the CLB, you can apply every year up until your beneficiary turns 15 years old.

How do you apply for the CLB?
When you open your RESP with Wealthsimple, you will fill out the CEGS application forms as a part of your account opening. Make sure to leave the box I DO NOT want to request the CLB for this RESP unchecked. Wealthsimple will then take the information provided on these forms and automatically apply for the CLB on your behalf. You are not required to make a deposit to be eligible for the CLB.

Frequently asked questions

  • How long does it take to receive grants in my RESP with Wealthsimple?
    Depending on when you deposit funds into your RESP account, it can take anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks for your contribution to receive a corresponding government grant. This is because we can only request grants in the first five days of each month for the previous month's contributions. After this, it can take 3-4 weeks for the government to send us these grants, and it takes us about 5 business days for us to process them.

  • How can I tell how much I have contributed to each beneficiary in my Family RESP?
    You can reach out to our support team and request a contribution breakdown for your RESP.

  • Why do I need to select a beneficiary every time I make a deposit to my Family RESP?
    Even though funds can be shared among beneficiaries in the case that one does not attend post-secondary education, grants are received on an individual basis. For this reason, each deposit must go to an individual beneficiary in order to ensure that grants also go to an individual beneficiary.

  • Is there a deadline for RESP contributions?
    You must contribute to your RESP before December 31 to be eligible for the current years' Canadian Education Savings Grant (CESG). However, if you don't contribute enough to receive the full $500 CESG grant, you can carry forward any unused amount for one extra year.

  • If I have more than one RESP open for my child, how will grants be applied for?
    Grants get accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis. So, if the provider for your other RESP applies for grants before Wealthsimple, then you will receive grants through them and your grant applications will be rejected with Wealthsimple.

  • How do I apply for missed CESG?
    Every deposit you make automatically gets considered for all eligible grants. So, once you have maximized your CESG contributions for that year, any additional contributions that you make will automatically count towards catching up for a previous year.

  • Does Wealthsimple offer QESI?
    We don't currently support the Quebec Education Savings Incentive. If you'd like to get notified when the QESI becomes available, please reach out to our team and let them know.

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