An RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan) is an investment account that helps you save for a child’s post-secondary education—and their future. In addition to the money you invest, the Canadian government also contributes funds in the form of grants to help your investment in the future. Your RESP grows tax-free until the funds are withdrawn. Since many students have little or no other income, they can usually withdraw money from the RESP tax-free.

Find out why an RESP is the best way to save for your post-secondary education journey.

What’s the Difference Between a Family Plan and an Individual Plan?

Family RESP plans
Family RESP plans can be opened for one or more children under the age of 21 who are related by blood or adoption.

The contributions you make to the RESP are designated to each child in the plan in order for them to attract their own earnings and government grants — but the earnings can be shared among the children (up to $7,200 for the Canada Education Savings Grant). This means that if one child does not attend post-secondary education, or if they do not need all of the funds saved, the remaining funds can be used by the other children.

Individual RESP plans
Individual RESP plans can be opened for a single child by anyone (including an aunt, uncle, friend, godparent, self) who wishes to invest in a child’s post-secondary education—the subscriber does not need to be related to the child.

This plan is best suited for a subscriber who is not a parent, grandparent or sibling of the child; for an adult (18-21) who wishes to save for their own post-secondary education; or for a child who is over the age of 21.

Several grants provided by the government match your RESP contributions to maximize your savings and offer support to families with modest incomes. Making the most of these grants is a great strategy along your savings journey. We’re here to show you how.

Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG)

This grant is provided by the Canadian government and is the cornerstone of contribution matching. The government matches 20% of your contributions up to maximum grant amounts of $500/year and $7,200 over the lifespan of your RESP. Once you’ve set up your Embark Student Plan, we’ll automatically apply for this grant on your behalf.

If you started late or previously contributed less than $2,500/year, you can carry forward those missed amounts to current or future years. Read more about the CESG and carry forward room.

Additional CESG

Lower and middle-income families may qualify for a slightly modified version of the CESG, which provides an extra 10% or 20% in grants to the first $500 of annual contributions each year. Here’s a helpful overview.

See how grants can add up to support your child’s education

Canada Learning Bond (CLB)

For families with modest incomes, the CLB is based on net family income and the number of children in a family. This bond provides a one-time initial grant payment of $500. From there, the government will automatically add $100 to your RESP for each year of eligibility until the child is 15-years old. That could mean as much as $2,000 in additional government grants. We can help you learn more about this.

Special requirements for 18-20 year olds

This age group may still be eligible to receive the CLB and get up to $2,000 into an RESP. The amount received depends on the number of years they were eligible to receive the CLB before turning 15. We can help you learn more about this.

How the Canada Learning Bond is Calculated

While setting up, contributing to, and withdrawing from your RESP is straightforward, there are certain rules you need to keep in mind. Knowing what they are—and that we’re here to help you with them—will make following them straightforward as well. For example, knowing your contribution limits, what’s considered a qualified post-secondary education or training program and how to withdraw funds without penalty will help to make sure you get the most of your RESP.

Our best-in-class registered education savings plan (RESP) is designed to help your savings grow early while keeping them safe as your child gets closer to post-secondary education. With our expertly managed investment strategy, you can maximize growth potential in the early years and reduce risk as school approaches – so you can plan for their future with confidence.

Our glidepath advantage ensures that your RESP investment mix automatically adjusts over time to balance growth and security.

• Early years: When your child is young, we focus on higher-growth investments to help build your savings.
• Middle years: As your child gets closer to high school, we gradually shift to a more balanced mix of growth and stability.
• Final years: As post-secondary approaches, we prioritize protecting your savings by moving into lower-risk investments.

With glidepath advantage, you don’t have to worry about making investment decisions – we do the work for you, so you can stay focused on your child’s future.

Our age-based investment strategy ensures that your RESP adapts over time. Here’s how your investment mix evolves:

• Early growth: More exposure to equities for higher potential returns.
• Balanced approach: A mix of equities and fixed income to manage risk.
• Capital preservation: Emphasis on secure, lower-risk investments as school nears.

This strategic approach helps optimize returns while reducing uncertainty as you get closer to using your RESP funds.

For more details on our investment strategy and fund performance, download our fund facts.