Roger Wohlner is a writer and financial advisor with over 20 years of financial services experience. He writes about financial planning for Wealthsimple and for a number of financial advisors. His work has been published in Investopedia, Yahoo! Finance, The Motley Fool, Money.com, US News among other publications. Roger owns his own finance blog called 'The Chicago Financial Planner'. He holds an MBA from Marquette University and a Bachelor’s degree with an emphasis on finance from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
The simple answer is: as much as you can, up to the plan’s limits. The more complicated answer is not really an answer at all: You have to view your contribution in the context of your entire financial plan and your overall situation.
How much to contribute to my RRSP?
The easy answer to this question is “the more the better” because the biggest determinant of how much you will have accumulated for retirement is in large part predicated on the amount that you’ve saved while working.
The benefits of compounding
One of the major benefits of the RRSP is the benefit of tax-deferred growth for your investments in the plan. No taxes are due on the money contributed to the plan or the growth on investments until the money is withdrawn, presumably in retirement.
The principal of compounding is another important principal to keep in mind.
A chart published in 1994 by USAA sums it up nicely for an investor saving $250 per month and earning an 8% return:
While there are many versions and variations of this out there, the message is both simple and clear. Start investing in your RRSP as soon as you can and save as much as you can. While the investments you choose and the performance of those investments matter, the truth is that time and diligence in saving for retirement will go a long way in determining how much you actually accumulate for retirement.
How much should I have saved at my age?
Both T. Rowe Price and Fidelity have done some excellent research on the topic of how much of your current salary you should have saved for retirement by a particular age. Their findings are similar but a little different.
According to T. Rowe Price, you should have these multiples of your salary saved:
These guidelines are midpoints in a range that T. Rowe Price calculated in an extensive study. Their overall suggestion is that most investors target saving 15% of their salary for retirement each year.
Fidelity’s suggested savings benchmarks are similar:
These benchmarks, and those from any number of other studies and retirement calculators out there, are just that: benchmarks. They are a great starting point to provide a set of savings targets and goals. This is, however, just the beginning.
Look at your own situation
Benchmarks and guidelines are a great starting point for your retirement savings goals. Beyond that, you need to look at your own situation. What do your retirement goals look like? Ask yourself some questions like:
Whether you are married or single will factor into the equation. If you are married and your spouse works and has a retirement plan you essentially have two people saving toward retirement. While the expenses for two people are generally higher than for one person, they are often not twice as much as those for one person.
If you are nearing retirement, ask yourself: Where will you live? What activities will you engage in? Will you continue to work part-time or full-time?
For those who are younger and contemplating an earlier exit from the workforce, such as those who subscribe to the popular FIRE movement, your can be a critically important component. Here again it behooves you to save as much as you can, but while also considering any issues you might have with taxes upon withdrawing from the account prior to age 59 ½.
Maximum contributions to RRSP
For the RRSP, your maximum contribution consists of your contribution limit for the current year, plus any carryover amount from the prior year. For 2023 the RRSP contribution limit is up to 18% of the earned income reported on your prior year’s tax return, up to a limit of $30,780. If you do not make the maximum contribution for a given year, you are allowed to carry the unused amount over to subsequent years indefinitely.
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Last Updated April 29, 2019
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