Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)

Save for your child's future education

Post-secondary education is expensive. And getting more so. Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) can help, allowing your money to grow tax-free until your child is ready for university, college or trade school.

Registered Education Savings Fund

The cost of higher education is going to get, yes, higher. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada estimates that a child born today will need more than $100,000 for a 4-year program. Like all parents, you want your child to have a successful future; one that's filled with exciting opportunities and promising possibilities. An RESP can help you achieve that.

When you invest in an RESP, you're not only taking advantage of tax-deferred savings, flexible investment vehicles and easy contribution plans, you're also investing in your child's future. And the earlier you start, the more you take advantage of accumulated growth.

Tax-free growth plus free government grants

RESPs allow savings to grow tax-free until your child is ready to go to college, university, trade school, or any other eligible post-secondary educational institution. Under the family RESP plan, if your child decides not to attend, the RESP can be transferred to another beneficiary such as a sibling. RESP assets can also be transferred into your RRSP, provided you have enough contribution room left.

Each child beneficiary can collect up to $500 per year from the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) program, to a maximum of $7,200 over the life of the RESP. That's an automatic 20% return on your investment! The simplest way to achieve this is to set up a convenient pre-authorized contribution of about $208 a month.

There is also a BC Training and Education Savings Program (BCTESP) grant, designed to help families start planning and savings earlier for their children’s post-secondary education. It provides $1,200 for your child’s RESP with no matching or additional contribution on your part. Grant applications can be submitted any time after the child’s sixth birthday up to the day before their ninth birthday. More information on this program can be found on the BC government website.

To maximise the growth of your RESP, especially if you start early and have a long time horizon, consider adding investments with potentially higher returns such as mutual fundsᶲ and ETFsᶲ. Secure products like an RESP Savings Account and term deposits can round out your RESP portfolio. Your advisor will be able to assist you with your portfolio strategy.

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How much do you need to save?

There are many factors that will affect how much and how quickly you need to save for post-secondary education. These include:

Whether you're saving for your children or other relatives
How many children you're saving for
The age of your children
Where the student plans to attend school – locally, nationally, abroad
Where the student will live – at home or on/off campus
If they will be able to supplement their income through part-time work
Potential for student loans, scholarships or bursaries
Additional costs involved for the particular program of study; for example, some professional faculties such as medicine or engineering carry higher tuition costs

Get your BlueShore Financial RESP

We can help you identify how much and how quickly you will need to save, taking into consideration the Canada Education Savings Grant and the BC Training and Education Savings Plan. Whether you're saving for a child or grandchild, start today. Consult with a financial advisor to start your RESP soon. Because we all know how fast kids grow up.

Education Planning Calculator

See the impact of delaying RESP contributions on the total savings.