RRSP, RRIF, LIF and LIRA Guides for Canadians (2026)

The Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is a tax-deferred retirement account: contributions are deductible, growth is sheltered, and withdrawals are taxed as income. By the end of the year you turn 71, an RRSP becomes a source of income, usually through a RRIF, and pension money you take with you from a job follows a parallel locked-in path through a LIRA and a LIF. The complete RRSP guide explains how the account works from start to finish; the pages below each answer one question in depth, in two groups: saving in an RRSP, and turning it into income.

Part 1: Saving in an RRSP

Start here

• Complete RRSP guide: how the account works, what it can hold, and how it fits with other accounts
• When to start an RRSP and make your first contribution
• Best RRSP accounts in Canada: banks, brokerages and robo-advisors compared
• RRSP growth calculator
• Average RRSP balance by age
• Is it too late to start an RRSP at 55?

Contribution room, limits and deadlines

• RRSP contribution limit by year: this year’s dollar limit and every past limit
• RRSP contribution room calculator: how much room you have and where CRA shows it
• Why your RRSP room changed: pension adjustments
• Unused RRSP room explained
• Fixing an RRSP over-contribution
• Is it too late to contribute for last year?
• What to do if you missed the RRSP deadline
• What to do once your RRSP is maxed out

Spousal RRSPs

• Spousal RRSP guide: how it works and whether it suits you
• Spousal RRSP attribution rules
• Contributing to a spousal RRSP after 71
• Transferring an RRSP to a spouse

Workplace plans

• DPSP guide: deferred profit sharing plans, vesting and tax
• Group RRSP vs DPSP
• DCPP or RRSP?

Where to put your savings

• RRSP vs TFSA calculator
• RRSP vs a non-registered account
• RRSP vs paying down your mortgage
• US dividend withholding tax in an RRSP
• Moving an RRSP to another institution

Taking money out before retirement

• RRSP withdrawal rules: withholding tax, HBP, LLP and how withdrawals are taxed
• RRSP withdrawal tax calculator
• What happens if you cash out an RRSP early, or for an emergency
• Withdrawing from an RRSP to pay debt
• How long an RRSP withdrawal takes
• Home Buyers’ Plan repayment rules

Part 2: Turning it into income (RRIF, LIF, LIRA)

The age-71 deadline and converting to a RRIF

• What to do when you turn 71 with an RRSP: the deadline, your options and a checklist
• RRSP to RRIF conversion guide: how the conversion works, step by step
• Best time to convert an RRSP to a RRIF
• How to open a RRIF and choose a provider

RRIF withdrawals and tax

• RRIF withdrawal rules: minimums, withholding, pension splitting and the younger-spouse election
• RRIF minimum withdrawal table: the rate for every age
• RRIF withdrawal calculator
• RRSP meltdown strategy: drawing down early to cut lifetime tax
• Withdrawing RRSP money before 65 to protect GIS

Locked-in pension money: LIRAs and LIFs

• LIF vs LIRA vs RRIF: how the three accounts differ
• LIRA guide
• LIRA withdrawal and unlocking rules
• LIRA vs RRSP
• Should you transfer a pension to a LIRA?
• Life Income Fund (LIF) guide
• LIF withdrawal rules: minimums and maximums by province

At death

• What happens to your RRSP when you die
• What happens to your RRIF when you die
• RRIF successor annuitant vs beneficiary
• RRSP beneficiary vs estate, and estate planning

Related guides elsewhere on the site

• TFSA guides and TFSA or RRSP first?
• FHSA guides
• Retirement planning and pensions
• RRSP deadline dates for this tax season