How can you optimize your RESP contributions and get the most grant money possible?

By contributing to a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) to finance your child’s post-secondary education, you’ve made an excellent choice. Want to optimize your capital and maximize your RESP? You’re right! It’s important to have a good maximization strategy so you can reach the annual maximum in your RESP. We explain how to get the most out of your investments and leave no money on the table!

To get the most out of your RESP and the associated government grants, we recommend that you contribute $2,500 per year.¹ While there is no annual maximum for RESPs, remember that the lifetime contribution limit for any one beneficiary is $50,000 per plan.

 Note that your child’s RESP could attract maximum grants of up to $12,800² for his or her post-secondary education!³

While it is possible to recover unused RESP grants from previous years, contributing the maximum each year is the best way to take full advantage of your Registered Education Savings Plan.

This will help you prepare for your child’s (your beneficiary’s) future education without having to add more funds just before reaching the finish line (in other words, RESP withdrawal). That’s why it’s important to have a good RESP optimization strategy.

Maximizing your RESP means getting the best return on your RESP investment by implementing the best strategies for making your savings grow.

Maximum contributions are the annual amounts that you should not exceed if you want to avoid going over the lifetime contribution limits.

If, at the end of any month, total RESP contributions exceed the lifetime contribution limit (i.e., $50,000 per beneficiary), you will be taxed 1% per month on the amount of the excess contributions. For example, if you have contributed $53,000 to your RESP, the excess contribution of $3,000 will be taxed at $30 per month until it is withdrawn. To avoid this, it’s best to withdraw any excess funds before the end of the month.

Note that government grants paid into an RESP are not included in the contribution limit. So you won’t be penalized if your RESP exceeds the $50,000 limit only because of growth and grants, not because of excess contributions.

You can choose annual contributions, but make sure you put the maximum into your RESP by December 31 of each year to take full advantage of government grants.

If your family income allows, you can make monthly contributions, particularly by scheduling automatic payments; this will help you keep saving steadily and give you a better chance of reaching the maximum annual contribution amount that qualifies you for the government grants you’re entitled to. With monthly contributions, you’ll also reap the benefits of compounding, which generates interest on interest.

Please note that, depending on your beneficiary’s year of birth, there are limits on the total annual contributions you can make to an RESP:

• $2,000 per year for a child born in 1996
• $4,000 for a child born between 1997 and 2006
• No limit for children born in 2007 and subsequent years