4. Student living at home Source – Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) 2007 $140 $34,100 14 $160 $30,900 12 $180 $28,000 10 $215 $25,400 8 $275 $23,100 6 $400 $21,000 4 Monthly savings needed Estimated cost of four-year college or university program Years until child attends a post-secondary institution
5. Students living away from home Source – Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) 2007 $350 $85,300 14 $390 $77,500 12 $450 $70,300 10 $540 $63,700 8 $690 $57,800 6 $990 $52,500 4 Monthly savings needed Estimated cost of four-year college or university program Years until child attends a post-secondary institution
14. Did you know… Unlike past years, today virtually all full-time post-secondary education is eligible for assistance through RESPs.
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16. Tip If you have two beneficiaries that differ in age by more than 6 years, it may make sense to set up a second RESP rather than a family plan. All RESP must mature and be terminated 25 years after the end of the year in which the contract was entered into.
17. RESP contributions if transfer(s) have been made to the plan, 21 years after the year of the earliest effective date that applies Contributions can be made up to the earliest of: date beneficiary turns 21 21 years after the plan was entered applies to Family plans only Family or Single plans Family or Single plans Family plan versus Single plan
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20. CESG tip Unused grant contribution room can be carried forward and used when additional contributions are made in future years, subject to a $800 maximum annual grant.
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Editor's Notes
NOTE: Anyone presenting this seminar must be Mutual Funds licensed. Thank everyone for coming. Encourage questions. Introduce/explain the feedback form and let people know that you’ll be collecting them at the end of the presentation.
In our seminar today we’ll talk about: Education costs and the need to set money aside early What is a registered education savings plan…is it something you should consider? What government money is available to you through the Canada Education Savings grant program How much can you contribute to a registered plan to get special tax treatment, where is it invested, and how and when do you get money out of the plan There will be lots of time for questions and discussion
Source: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) 2007 Use this slide to give seminar attendees an idea of how much money they need to save, depending on the age of their children. Assumptions: The estimated cost of college/university is based on today’s average education cost of $4,000 a year for a student living at home and $10,000 a year for a student living away from home. Cost of post-secondary education includes tuition fees, books and, for students living away from home, room and board. (All figures rounded.) A 5% annual increase in education costs (which takes into account inflation), four years of post-secondary education and a 5% annual pre-tax rate of return on investments are assumed. The calculation assumes no additional investments once the child starts college/university. The savings will be depleted by the end of four years in four annual installments, adjusted for inflation. Assumes contributions are made at the end or each month. This calculation assumes that the savings are made within a non-registered investment account (no tax-deferred savings or CESG). The calculations above do not include any tax implications. “ Estimated cost of four-year college or university program” are estimates from Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) 2002.
Source: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) 2007 Use this slide to give seminar attendees an idea of how much money they need to save, depending on the age of their children. Assumptions: The estimated cost of college/university is based on today’s average education cost of $4,000 a year for a student living at home and $10,000 a year for a student living away from home. Cost of post-secondary education includes tuition fees, books and, for students living away from home, room and board. (All figures rounded.) A 5% annual increase in education costs (which takes into account inflation), four years of post-secondary education and a 5% annual pre-tax rate of return on investments are assumed. The calculation assumes no additional investments once the child starts college/university. The savings will be depleted by the end of four years in four annual installments, adjusted for inflation. Assumes contributions are made at the end or each month. This calculation assumes that the savings are made within a non-registered investment account (no tax-deferred savings or CESG). The calculations above do not include any tax implications. “ Estimated cost of four-year college or university program” are estimates from Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) 2002.
*Source – Canadian Federation of Students, 2004 Ask the audience: What has risen faster – tuition or inflation? Answer: Tuition has risen 4 times faster than inflation!
Don’t delay! Start early with your education savings. Just like cramming for an exam doesn’t get you the best results possible, neither does cramming when it comes to having the money needed when tuition is due. You’ll see from this chart that although you can delay saving, it pays to start early. Look at the difference...saving $100 per month for 18 years accumulates to $17,000 more than if you start later and put $200 per month aside for 9 years. The contributions shown in this example are made at the beginning of each month. It assumes an 8% effective annual rate of return compounded monthly.
There are various investment options for saving for your children’s education: Annuities Trusts Capital Gains Registered Education Savings Plan Universal Life insurance I will share some information on all of these options in the next several slides.
A parent may want to set aside money in a deferred annuity he/she owns, rather than having the annuity owned in trust by the child. This method is a good way of putting money aside for a specific event (I.e. post secondary education for your child) without the owner giving up control of the money. There are no tax advantages with this investment option. The owner (likely the parent) pays the tax. If your child decides not to go to post-secondary education, the owner of the deferred annuity simply keeps the money or they can gift it to the child for non-education use (such as a wedding expense, purchase of car, etc.)
In the past, people were encouraged to set up mutual funds “Susan Doe in trust for Johnny Doe”. Interest and dividend income from the funds must, by law, be taxed to the parent who provided the money, but capital gains are not normally subject to this rule. However, in situations where the parent provided the money used to buy the funds, and the parent is also the trustee, CRA has indicated that they consider that the parent has not given up control of the funds and therefore even the capital gains must be taxed in the parent’s hands. This policy makes trusts a less popular option for education savings. Also, the law in most provinces state that the child can demand payment of the money upon attaining the age of majority. And – the child can spend the money however they want!
When it comes to investing for Capital Gains (usually through common shares or mutual funds), it involves a trust. Experts recommend that they go the extra step of getting their lawyer to do a formal trust document, stating: the terms and conditions age the child will access the money who gets the money if the child doesn’t survive until to that age It is recommended that a lawyer should do the formal trust document because if the trust is set up properly, it may be possible to have future capital gains taxable in the child’s hands, and avoid triggering tax on capital gains when the mutual fund is eventually transferred to the child. And it may also help lessen the likelihood that the child will be able to assume control over the funds before he or she is financially responsible. Now we’ll turn our discussion into Registered Education Savings Plan investment option.
What is a Registered Education Savings Plan? (RESP) An RESP is an education investment vehicle to accumulate money for a child’s post-secondary education. It must be registered with the federal government and is regulated by such. Money deposited into an RESP is not tax deductible, but all investment growth is tax sheltered while left in the RESP. When the child enters an eligible post-secondary school, the income withdrawn is then taxable in the child’s hands. A child’s income is likely to be low enough that they will pay little or no income tax. And unlike past years, today virtually all full-time post-secondary education is eligible for assistance through RESPs.
Once your child is registered for a qualified education program at a recognized post-secondary education institution, he or she can withdraw money to pay for costs such as Tuition Books Lab feeds Equipment Room and board Travel expenses related to attending the program Your child will pay taxes on the income earned in the RESP, once withdrawn. But since a student’s income tends to be low, tax on the withdrawals will likely be minimal.
Individual plan: An individual plan can name only one beneficiary, and no defined relationship is required. All RESP's mature and must be terminated 25 years after the end of the year in which the contract was entered into Anyone who has an interest in the education of a child may establish to an RESP. Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, family friends; the list of people potentially interested in helping with the high costs of education is endless. Family plan: A family plan can be set up when each of the beneficiaries is related to the applicant by blood or adoption A grandparent could set up a family plan for all of their grandchildren and determine who gets what within the legal limits of the grant and contributions. No contributions may be made to a “Family Plan” in respect of a beneficiary who is added to that plan when the beneficiary is 21 year of age or older. On a family plan, if one of the beneficiaries does not attend a post-secondary institution, the grant money is transferable to other beneficiaries to a maximum of $7,200 per beneficiary.(eg. If the CESG paid out $10,000 in grants for two children and one of those children decided not to attend post secondary education, the other child could get the grant up to a max. of $7,200 and the remaining $2,800 would have to be repaid to the gov’t)
If you have two beneficiaries that differ in age by more than 6 years, it may make sense to set up a second RESP. Since an RESP must be terminated at the end of year 25, this could prove to be a problem if the youngest beneficiary is not yet old enough to attend post-secondary school.
Contribution Information Family Plans - the earliest of: 1. the date the beneficiary turns 21 years of age 2. 21 years after the year the plan was entered into or 3. if transfer(s) have been made to the plan, 21 years after the year of the earliest effective date that applies Single Plans: 1. 21 years after the year the plan was entered into or 2. if transfer(s) have been made to the plan, 21 years after the year of the earliest effective date that applies
plan must be terminated 25 years after the end of the year in which the contract was entered into The maximum lifetime contribution is $50,000 PER BENEFICIARY
The Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) - Introduced February 24, 1998 This is money which the federal government pays into a registered education savings plan. Investment growth is tax sheltered and income withdrawn is taxed in the hands of the student. Payable on the first $2000 / year of RESP contribution per beneficiary Maximum CESG per year is $500 per beneficiary 20% of the first $2,500 RESP contributions per year qualifies for the CESG per beneficiary The amount is paid into the RESP at the end of the month in which the contribution was made CESG is payable until age 18 Unused grant contribution room can be carried forward and used when additional contributions are made in future years, subject to a $800 maximum annual grant Social Insurance Number (SIN) of beneficiary required to receive grant. Contribution deadline is December 31 to qualify for the CESG for that year Subscribers are free to choose how the grant is to be invested within the RESP. The beneficiary must be a Canadian resident during the period the grant payments are being made to the trustee of the RESP
To maximize the amount of CESG grant money, it may be best to avoid lump sum RESP contributions in excess of $2,000. Instead, spread the payments over a few years. For example, a one-time RESP deposit of $4,000 would receive a $400 CESG payment in year 1 and nothing beyond that since the maximum eligible for the CESG is $400 annually. If that same $4,000 was split into two, $2,000 payments deposited in each of years one and two, the CESG payment would be $800.
Here’s an illustration showing the value of saving for your child’s education using an RESP rather than a ‘normal’ investment. Based upon an 8% interest assumption and a monthly deposit of $208.33 into an RESP for 18 years. The CESG makes a big difference to the overall value of your investment!
The CESG is unavailable in the following 3 situations: Non-Resident Beneficiary: You cannot qualify for a CESG if the RESP is started for a non-resident beneficiary RESP is started when the beneficiary is already 18 or over On next slide…
3. The government grant is not available to beneficiaries age 16 or 17, with two exceptions: $2,000 of RESP contributions were made and not withdrawn before the end of the year in which the beneficiary turned 15 years of age OR a minimum of $100 in annual RESP contributions were made and not withdrawn in any four years before the year in which the beneficiary turned 15 years of age
By investing in an RESP you benefit from the following: 20% CESG payment on contributions - max. of $400/Yr ($2000 x 20% CESG) investment growth earned on the CESG tax-deferred on investment growth…and eventually taxed on the child’s lower future income which takes advantage of the child’s basic personal exemption and various tax credits no financial surprise when post-secondary school beckons
What if little Billy doesn’t go to post-secondary education? If it’s a Family Plan, you can designate another child as the beneficiary if related by blood or adoption Withdraw income -- subject to an additional 20% tax Donate income to an educational institution (note this does not entitle the contributor to a charitable tax receipt) Transfer the funds to contributor’s RRSP or spousal RRSP without altering the tax liability (i.e.. No tax receipt given for the transfer) and as long as you have the RRSP contribution room. Details on this option are on the following slide. Note for #4. - For a transfer to be made, the following conditions must be met: the beneficiary is at least 21 years of age and the plan has been in existence for at least 10 years and there are no past or present eligible beneficiaries and the subscriber is a resident in Canada.
If you choose to transfer money from the RESP into your personal RRSP note the following: Up to $50,000 can be transferred assuming: all beneficiaries are 21 or older the plan must have been in place for 10 years there must be sufficient RRSP contribution room contributor must be a Canadian resident The CESG must be repaid to the government Interest on the CESG is yours to keep No tax receipt is issued for the money transferred into the RRSP a T4A and a contribution receipt will be issued to the subscriber/annuitant
If you want to add a little life to your educational savings plan and you ’ve maximized your RESP grant, Ulife can supplement your educational savings. With Ulife your child receives Life insurance protection with increasing coverage Ability to guarantee future increases in coverage, regardless of their health Tax-sheltered growth of money in the reserve A range of investment options, including unlimited foreign content. Access to money in the reserve for any use. For example, obtaining a post-secondary education, starting their own business, buying a house. Significant tax savings, when the accrued income is taxed at the student’s rate, rather then the parents.
In order to put everything together you must take full advantage of the CESG of $2,000 annually. Then you can add flexibility by adding a Ulife policy on the life of your child. Your child will have life insurance protection plus access to a source of money to pay for expenses not covered by their RESP. When thinking about education think about the RESP in conjunction with Ulife plus. Together, they are an excellent way to maximize educational funding while providing adequate life insurance protection that meets your child ’s changing needs, today and in the future.
If you’ve already decided you should start an RESP, talk to me after the session, and I’ll arrange to meet with you If you’re wondering about your own situation, or want to talk first with your spouse, feel free to give me a call and I’ll follow-up with you. A $500 GIFT WILL BE GIVEN TO ONE LUCKY PERSON THAT START A NEW OR TRANSFER THEIR EXISTING RESP PLAN DURING THE NEXT 30 DAYS., PLAN NOW OR PAY LATER!!!!
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