Withdraw from your RRIF or spousal RRIF

With a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), you must withdraw a minimum amount every year starting in the calendar year after the year you open the account. The withdrawn funds are considered income and should be considered for your own tax reporting purposes.

Find your minimum withdrawal amount

Your minimum withdrawal amount is determined for you by the Canadian government based on your age.

You can reference this table from the CRA for benchmarks on how much you’re required to withdraw at different ages. 

Note: If you do not make a withdrawal for your minimum amount by the end of the calendar year, the CRA requires us to manually make a withdrawal on your behalf. 

To find your minimum withdrawal amount, follow these steps: 

Web Mobile app
  1. Log in to your Wealthsimple account
  2. Select Move money from the Home page
  3. At the bottom of the Move money form, select your account type (Managed or Self-directed) to continue the old website 
  4. In the From field, select your RRIF
  5. In the To field, select your desired bank account
  6. Choose your Reason for withdrawal
  7. In the Amount field, enter an amount
  8. Under Amount, you can see your minimum withdrawal amount
  1. Log in to your Wealthsimple mobile app
  2. Tap the Move icon at the bottom of your screen
  3. Select the Withdraw menu item
  4. Select your RRIF and tap Next
  5. Choose the destination for your withdrawal and tap Next
  6. Here, you will see your Yearly minimum remaining which is the amount you must withdraw by the end of the calendar year

Withdrawing more than your minimum amount

If you withdraw more than your annual minimum, the extra amount will be subject to a withholding tax. We'll automatically deduct the holding tax from your withdrawal and pay it to the government. The amount of withholding tax we send depends on which province you live in.

If you withdraw:

Withholding tax rate (excluding Quebec):

Withholding tax rate (Quebec residents):

Up to $5,000

10%

19% (5% Federal + 14% Provincial)

Between $5,001 and $15,000

20%

24% (10% Federal + 14% Provincial)

More than $15,001

30%

39% (15% Federal + 14% Provincial)

During the calendar year that you convert your RRSP into an RRIF, there is no minimum withdrawal requirement. Any withdrawal made during this year will be subject to a withholding tax. This minimum will come into effect the following calendar year.

Example

If you convert your RRSP this calendar year into a RRIF, you aren’t required to withdraw any amount from your RRIF until the following calendar year. If you decide to withdraw funds this year, it will be subject to withholding tax.

The following calendar year, you will be required to withdraw the minimum amount which won’t be subject to withholding tax. Any amount withdrawn over the minimum in the next calendar year will be subject to withholding tax.

Spousal RRIF three-year attribution rule

Your spouse may be taxed on the excess amount you withdraw if they contributed to your spousal RRSP in the year of the withdrawal request or the two preceding years. Please use Form T2205 to calculate the amount you and your spouse must report to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Note: This rule doesn't apply to the minimum amount. 

How to make a withdrawal

Depending on your account type (Self-directed investing or Managed), you can make a one-time or recurring RRIF withdrawal.

Self-directed investing: You can only make a one-time withdrawal from your RRIF. You can only initiate a withdrawal from this account type on the Wealthsimple mobile app.

Managed: You can make a one-time or recurring withdrawal from your RRIF on the Wealthsimple web experience or mobile app. You can only set up a recurring withdrawal on the web experience of Wealthsimple.  

To make a withdrawal, follow these steps:

Web Mobile app 
  1. Sign in to your Wealthsimple account
  2. Select Move money from the Home page
  3. At the bottom of the Move money form, select Managed or Self-directed to continue the old website 
  4. In the From field, select your RIFF
  5. In the To field, select your desired bank account
  6. Choose your Reason for withdrawal
  7. In the Amount field, enter an amount
  8. Under Amount, you can select either Minimum, Maximum or Other
  9. Select your Frequency
  10. Click Set withdrawal

Note: The yearly minimum remaining is the amount of money that you have to withdraw by the end of the calendar year.

  1. Log in to your Wealthsimple mobile app
  2. Tap the Move tab at the bottom of your screen
  3. Select the Withdraw menu item
  4. Select your RRIF and tap Next
  5. Choose the destination for your withdrawal and tap Next
  6. Enter an amount and tap Review
  7. Confirm your withdrawal details and Submit your withdrawal

Note: The yearly minimum remaining is the amount of money that you have to withdraw by the end of the calendar year.

Note: When you make a withdrawal from an RRIF, you can choose whether to withdraw your annual minimum amount or some other amount. You must withdraw the minimum amount by the end of the calendar year. You may choose to withdraw up to the full account balance, however any amount greater than your minimum will be subject to withholding tax.

Why do I need to withdraw my minimum before an internal transfer?

This is a requirement mandated by the CRA that Wealthsimple must follow when processing your internal transfer request.

Was this article helpful?

Have more questions? Submit a request

Comments

0 comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Withdraw from your account

Want to talk to a human?

Our Client Success team is here to help.