Wednesday 27 June 2012

Tax corner-Pension income dividing

At first glance, it would appear that spousal Registered Retirement Saving plans (spousal RRSPs) are no loner required because the retirement living income dividing policies allow partners to divided their income in any case when their Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) become Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs). However, there are a several conditions in which spousal RRSPs can offer some benefits.

Income dividing at any age

Under the retirement living income dividing policies, you must be at lease age 65 to divided income and you must convert your RRSP into a RRIF. Regular RRSP withdrawals do not qualify for pension income splitting. However, with spousal RRSPs, you can divided income anytime that the attribution policies don’t apply. If a spousal contribution hasn’t been made in the current year or the two previous calendar years, any withdrawals from the RRSP will be taxed to your spouse. Read More