Overview

You can add a beneficiary to any of your registered accounts. You can also add a successor or contingent beneficiary to specific registered account types. The designation of funds for non-registered accounts can only be done so through a will.

Add or remove a beneficiary (all provinces/territories except Quebec)

A beneficiary is a person who inherits the assets in your account in the event of your death.

You can add or remove beneficiaries directly through your Wealthsimple account. You must use the web or desktop version of Wealthsimple to add or remove a beneficiary.

Add a beneficiary

To add a beneficiary to your registered account:

1. Log in to your Wealthsimple profile
2. From the Home page, select your desired registered account
3. Select the ellipses (...) button in the top right corner
4. Choose Manage beneficiaries from the menu
5. Select Add beneficiary or Add another beneficiary if you're adding multiple beneficiaries to the account
6. Fill out the beneficiary information
7. Select Add beneficiary to complete the form
8. Enter the Allocation for the beneficiary, then select Continue
9. Review your beneficiary information and check I agree to the terms of Designation of Beneficiary
10. Select Confirm to add the beneficiary

Remove a beneficiary

To remove a beneficiary from your registered account:

1. Log in to your Wealthsimple profile
2. From the Home page, select the desired registered account
3. Select the ellipsis (...) button in the top right corner
4. Choose Managed beneficiaries from the menu
5. Select the trash can beside the beneficiary you want to remove from the account 

Add or remove a successor or contingent beneficiary (all provinces/territories except Quebec) 

Naming a successor gives your partner or spouse ownership of your account in the event of your death. You can add a successor to the following account types:

• TFSA
• RRIF
• SRIF
• FHSA

A contingent beneficiary would inherit your assets if the primary beneficiary of the account can't or won't. You can add a contingent beneficiary to any type of registered account.

Add a successor or contingent beneficiary

To add a successor, you must fill out our online form.

To add contingent beneficiaries, you must

• add your primary beneficiaries by following these steps, then
• fill out our online form

The form doesn’t require a physical signature and you have the ability to designate a successor and/or contingent beneficiaries to certain account types.

Remove a successor or contingent beneficiary

You can fill out our online form to remove a previously designated successor or contingent beneficiary. 

Residents of Quebec

The provincial government of Quebec does not allow the designation of beneficiaries through financial institutions. Instead, if you are a resident of Quebec, your beneficiaries must be assigned through a will.