As the registered retirement savings plan turns 60 this year and the annual contribution deadline looms ahead, two new pieces of research show a shift in the participation rates and employer provision of the savings vehicle.
A new study by Statistics Canada shows fewer and fewer Canadians aged 25-54 used registered retirement savings plans between 2000 and 2013. The number of individuals using the savings vehicle dropped by 16 per cent to 4.2 million, and the total value of annual contributions fell by 26 per cent to $22.5 billion.
Read: Fewer Canadians contributing to RRSPs: Statistics Canada
When it comes to group RRSPs, the Canadian Institutional Investment Network’s annual CAP Benchmark Report, published last week, found 16 per cent of plan sponsors offer employees access to an RRSP only, while 41 per cent offer that option alongside a defined contribution pension plan. It also found participation rates in group RRSPs were 59.7 per cent in 2016, compared to 53 per cent in the 2015 survey.
With the RRSP contribution deadline just over a week away, do employers have a responsibility to ensure employees are making the most of their RRSP? Share your view in this week’s online poll.
Have your say: Do employers have a responsibility to ensure employees are making the most of their RRSP?
Last week, Benefits Canada asked who’s right in the disagreement between the Ontario government and the province’s auditor general over the accounting treatment of jointly sponsored public sector pension plans. More than half (56 per cent) of respondents sided with the auditor general, while 44 per cent said the government is right.
Read: Ontario can include pension surplus in financial statement: panel
