BMO InvestorLine offers a variety of self-directed registered plans to help you save and invest for your retirement needs. Click on the plan name to view more information that may help you decide which is the right plan for you. A BMO InvestorLine representative will be pleased to help you with more details.

• RRSP: self-directed registered retirement savings plans
• Locked-in RRSP or LIRA: locked-in registered retirement savings plan or locked-in retirement account
• LRSP: Federal Locked-In Registered Retirement Savings Plan
• RRIF: registered retirement income fund
• LIF: life income fund
• LRIF: locked-in retirement income fund
• RLIF: Restricted Life Income Fund

Locked-In Addendum are available in PDF format for you to download, view and complete.

RRSPs are savings plans registered with Canada Customs and Revenue Agency into which you contribute savings or investments for retirement. One individual may have several RRSPs and use them to invest in a variety of financial instruments such as mutual funds, GICs, stocks and bonds.

There are two primary reasons Canadians invest in an RRSP - the income tax saved when you make an RRSP contribution and because the income earned within an RRSP is tax sheltered until it is withdrawn.

A self-directed RRSP allows you the flexibility to choose the investment vehicles that are right for you so long as they are defined by the Income Tax Act.

With BMO InvestorLine, you can choose to open a new RRSP or transfer in an existing plan that you may already have open with another Financial Institution. We’ll take care of the federal and provincial registration requirements. Consolidating your RRSP in one location makes your life easier at tax time. You need only wait for one tax receipt to cover all your RRSP contributions. And, it helps you monitor and maximize your foreign content.

At BMO InvestorLine there is no annual administration fee for RRSPs if your plan value is over $15,000 (otherwise an annual charge of $100 applies.) As well, there is no fee charged for contributions you make to your RRSP. Once your plan is set-up and you’re ready to invest, commission charges may apply, depending on your choice of investments. See our Commission Schedule for full details.

Making contributions is easy. If you have a BMO Bank of Montreal account, you can call us and ask us to transfer the funds into your RRSP. Don’t wait until the last minute! You can use our Pre-authorized RRSP Contribution (PARC) plan to make regular contributions. You can also mail your contribution directly to us. Choose the method that is most convenient for you.

Remember though that your contributions to RRSPs should not exceed your contribution limit, established each year for you by Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. If you do exceed your contribution limit, you may be liable for a penalty tax.

At some time during your career you may find yourself in a situation where you take on a position with a new employer. You can still retain your accumulated pension benefits with your former employer (also referred to as being "vested") but you must now decide whether to leave the money with your former employer’s pension fund or remove it. Since both the federal and provincial governments do not permit you to convert your pension into cash, one of your alternatives is to convert it into a locked-in RRSP or LIRA, until you are ready to retire. Note: The name, locked-in RRSP or LIRA depends on the province where you live; but the provisions of the plans differ only in details from province to province.

You have virtually the same flexibility of investment vehicles for your savings in a locked-in RRSP or LIRA as you have with an RRSP. There are two key differences between a locked-in plan and a regular RRSP:

1. You cannot access your funds in a locked-in RRSP or LIRA until you reach a certain age, which depends on the provincial legislation that governs and the normal retirement age for the pension plan (for example, the age may be 10 years prior to normal retirement age); and
2. There is less flexibility in how you use your locked-in funds once you reach this age; you can purchase a life annuity or transfer to a LIF or LRIF.

A BMO InvestorLine representative will help you complete all the necessary forms to transfer your pension into a locked-in plan. Once all the paperwork is completed we’ll take care of the federal and provincial registration requirements.

At BMO InvestorLine there is no annual administration fee for locked-in RRSPs or LIRAs if your plan value is over $15,000 (otherwise an annual charge of $100 applies.) Once you’ve set-up your plan and are ready to invest your pension, you should be aware that certain commission charges may apply, depending on what you choose to invest in. See our Commission Schedule for full details.

Restricted Locked-in Savings Plans are able to accept transfers from RLIF (Restricted Life Income Fund) plans for individuals who wish to return RLIF assets into a locked-in plan.

Someone may want to make such a transfer because they do not want a steady stream of retirement income at the time.

Transfers from an RLSP by the holder will only be permitted if they are into another RLSP, into an RLIF, into a life annuity, or under certain circumstances, to a pension plan if the pension plan permits such a transfer.

RRSPs can be collapsed at any time, but no later than the end of the year in which you reach 71 years of age. If you’ve made the decision that you’re ready to retire, you have a number of options to close down your RRSP:

1. You can transfer your savings to a registered retirement income fund (RRIF);
2. You can purchase either a term annuity or a life annuity;
3. You can cash in your RRSP.

But if you choose option 3, the entire amount would be subject to tax in the year you cash it in, rather than having the tax impact being spread out over a number of years on smaller amounts of income if you choose options 1 or 2.

If you aren’t planning on cashing in your RRSP, an RRIF will probably provide you with more flexibility than an annuity. It keeps the control of your savings in your hands, rather than turning it over to a life insurance company to administer as an annuity. It allows you to control the amounts you may withdraw, subject to a minimum annual withdrawal amount. It can protect you from the cost of inflation: by increasing the amount you withdraw you can keep up with a higher cost of living. And, upon your death, the remaining assets in an RRIF can be made available to your heirs as part of your estate.

An RRIF operates much in the same way as your RRSP. You can choose from all the same types of RRSP-eligible investments and the money you earn within the plan is tax-sheltered until you make a withdrawal. The key difference is that instead of making an annual contribution as you would with an RRSP, with an RRIF you must make a minimum annual withdrawal.

A BMO InvestorLine representative will help you complete all the necessary forms to convert your RRSP to an RRIF. Once all the paperwork is completed we’ll take care of the federal and provincial registration requirements.

At BMO InvestorLine there is no annual administration fee for RRIFs. As with your RRSP, certain commission charges may apply, depending on what you choose to invest in. See our Commission Schedule for full details.

Locked-in RRSPs and LIRAs can be converted into Life Income Funds (LIFs) and Locked-in Retirement Income Funds (LRIFs) when you retire. An LIF is a form of RRIF, but since the funds originated from a pension plan, there are additional restrictions, which may vary slightly from province to province. Two major differences between an LIF and an RRIF are:

1. While both require that you take a minimum payment amount out of the plan each year, the LIF also places a ceiling on your withdrawals by imposing a maximum annual withdrawal; and
2. While you may control the investments in your RRIF during your entire lifetime, an LIF (except in Quebec) requires that you purchase an immediate life annuity (which must include a 60% spousal survivor benefit, unless the spouse waives this requirement) by the end of the year in which you celebrate your 80^th birthday.

If your pension plan funds were regulated by the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba, you have an additional option of transferring your locked-in RRSP or LIRA to a Life Retirement Income Fund (LRIF). While there is still a minimum and maximum withdrawal limitation, an LRIF does not require you to purchase a life annuity at age 80. It operates much like an ordinary RRIF in that you may continue to manage the investments in your LRIF for as long as you live.

A BMO InvestorLine representative will help you complete all the necessary forms to convert your locked-in plan to an LIF or LRIF. Once all the paperwork is completed we’ll take care of the federal and provincial registration requirements.

At BMO InvestorLine there is no annual administration fee for LIFs or LRIFs. As with your locked-in plan, certain commission charges may apply, depending on what you choose to invest in. See our Commission Schedule for full details.

Restricted Life Income Funds were created to accept the transfer of locked in assets from a Life Income Fund (LIF), locked-in RSP contract entered into after May 8, 2008, or ,under some circumstances, pension benefit credits. In the year that they turn 55, or in any subsequent year, individuals will be allowed to “unlock” up to 50% of the value of the RLIF by transferring it into a non-locked-in RSP or RRIF, as long as this transfer happens within 60 days of the creation of the RLIF.

The 50% remaining in the RLIF will be subject to the same limits upon maximum and minimum annual withdrawals, and to the same limits on extraordinary withdrawals, as a LIF. This remaining 50% can only be transferred to another RLIF, to a life annuity, or for individuals wishing to return remaining funds back to a locked-in savings vehicle, to a Restricted Locked-in Savings Plan (RLSP).

Addendum for Locked-In Registered plans (LIRA, RLSP, LRIF, LIF, RLIF)