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
• Best RRSP accounts in Canada: banks, brokerages and robo-advisors compared
• RRSP growth calculator

Contribution room, limits and deadlines

• RRSP contribution limit by year: this year’s dollar limit and every past limit
• Fixing an RRSP over-contribution
• The RRSP contribution deadline: this year’s date, and what to do if you missed it

Spousal RRSPs

• Spousal RRSP guide: how it works, the attribution rule, and contributing after 71

Workplace plans

• DPSP guide: deferred profit sharing plans, vesting, tax, and how a DPSP compares with a group RRSP
• DCPP or RRSP?

Where to put your savings

• RRSP vs paying down your mortgage
• Moving an RRSP to another institution

Taking money out before retirement

• RRSP withdrawal tax calculator
• 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, and how to open a RRIF

RRIF withdrawals and tax

• RRIF withdrawal rules: minimums, withholding, pension splitting and the younger-spouse election
• RRIF withdrawal calculator
• RRSP meltdown strategy: drawing down before 65 to cut lifetime tax and protect the GIS

Locked-in pension money: LIRAs and LIFs

• What is a LIRA account?
• LIRA withdrawal and unlocking rules
• LIF withdrawal rules: minimums and maximums by province

At death

• What happens to your RRIF when you die
• RRIF successor annuitant vs beneficiary

Related guides elsewhere on the site

• TFSA guides and TFSA or RRSP first?
• FHSA guides
• Retirement planning and pensions
• Best Robo-Advisors in Canada
• FHSA Guide Canada