Want to win $5000 towards your children's RESP?

Happy October! Where has this year gone? Crazy isn't it?

As we creep closer to year end, now is the time to begin thinking about year-end strategies for some of your investments. If you have a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), you should contribute to the plan before 31 December of each year to maximize your contributions for each beneficiary. Let me give you some examples.

If you have a beneficiary that is 14 years old this year for example, and you only opened the RESP when this beneficiary was 10, you can do some catch up contributions for said beneficiary. You would be able to contribute $2500 for their age 14 and then contribute a catch-up contribution for any year before their age 10. You can contribute a maximum of $5000 per calendar year for each beneficiary and attract the minimum government grant of 20%. 

If instead your beneficiary is 17 years old this year, the RESP has some requirements that need to be met in order to contribute two contributions before year end. You can ask me about those requirements specifically if you need. In the year a beneficiary turns 17, that year is the last year that you can contribute and attract the government grant. 

Education is one of the most inflationary expenses for families and contributing early and maximizing the contribution room is recommended. Fidelity Investments currently has a contest running where you can win $5000 to contribute to your RESP. Click this link to enter before 15 November.

If you would like more information about opening an RESP, reach out; I would be happy to help!

~ Dawn