Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)
A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) in Maple Ridge can be an effective way to help save for a child’s post secondary education. With the rising cost of college and university expenses, an RESP can be a smart way to maximize education savings with it’s unique features.
What Is An RESP
An RESP in Maple Ridge is a special tax free investment plan that helps you grow money on a tax sheltered basis for your child’s post secondary education. Along with the tax deferred savings, you can also benefit from direct government assistance including the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and other additional grants.
Some Benefits Of An RESP
- Tax Deferred Growth – there are no taxes payable on the money earned within an RESP until it’s withdrawn. When earnings and grants are eventually withdrawn by the student for educational purposes, they are taxed in the students hands which usually benefit from a lower tax rate
- Government Grants – the government encourage savings for post secondary education by offering some of the following grants:
a) Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) – for an eligible beneficiary under the age of 18, the government can match 20% on the first $2500 contributed annually. Your child could receive up to $7,200 from the Government of Canada to help pay for his or her education after high school.The Canada Education Savings Grant is money the government adds to your child’s Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) to help their savings grow. If you can’t make a contribution in any given year, you may be able to catch up in future years.This grant is available up until the end of the calendar year in which the child turns 17.
b) Additional Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) – this is additional money provided by the Government of Canada for Canadian children from low-income and middle-income families. This money is added to a child’s Registered Education Savings Plan to help them receive the maximum grant amount.
c) Alberta Centennial Education Savings Grant – The Government of Alberta will deposit $500 into a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) of any child born to Alberta residents in 2005 and later. Annual grants of $100 are available to eligible children attending school in Alberta if they turned 8, 11 or 14 years old in 2005 or later. This means they may be eligible to get a total of $800: $500 when they are born, plus three grants of $100 each when they reach the ages of 8, 11 and 14 years.
Note: for all of the important full details on Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP’s) and eligible government grant programs please visit the CRA website at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/resp-reee/
At Manion & Associates Financial Services we have been helping families with Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP’s) in Maple Ridge for over 15 years. As an independent full service financial planning firm we have access to a wide variety of investment, insurance and deposit options that can be held inside an RESP in Maple Ridge. Having this flexibility allows us to use the product that best suits your individual situation.
Need more information?
For more information on RESP investment, please contact us at 604-463-6060.