Legal for Life: Why Canadians Need a Lifetime Retirement Saving Limit

Canadian tax rules allow accumulation of retirement savings in “tax assisted” plans, including defined-benefit (DB) pension plans, defined-contribution (DC) pension plans and RRSPs. These plans are intended primarily for workers with “middle class” incomes, who will not receive enough pension income from programs such as Old Age Security (OAS) and the Canada/Quebec Pension Plan (C/QPP). But more than 12 million Canadian workers do not participate in a DB pension. Many will need to save for retirement, and must do so in DC pension plans and RRSPs. In the current environment of low interest rates, an aging population, and increasing longevity, these workers have less time to save for retirement and must save more. But can they?