Support Center
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about pension plans, eligibility, compliance, and strategy.
Eligibility & Basics
No, but you need T4 income. Partnerships and sole proprietors can sponsor plans for employees (like a spouse), but a sole proprietor cannot sponsor a plan for themselves as they do not receive T4 income.
Yes. If your spouse is a T4 employee of your corporation, they are eligible for their own plan, provided they earn sufficient T4 income to generate pension room.
You need an employment relationship with T4 income to qualify. While the plan sponsor is typically an incorporated company, other entities (like Limited Partnerships) may sponsor a plan for T4 employees. Sole proprietors relying on business income do not qualify.
The assets are held in a trust for the benefit of the members. While the company sponsors the plan, the assets are legally separated from the company's operating funds, providing a 'firewall' against corporate creditors.
Compliance & Tax
Actuarial rules assume your IPP assets grow at 7.5% annually. If they grow slower, the plan enters a deficit. This deficit is not a bad thing; it allows your corporation to make additional, tax-deductible contributions to top up the plan.
The plan is portable. You can transfer the plan to a new corporation, wind it up and transfer assets to a LIRA (Locked-In Retirement Account), or purchase a life annuity.
Yes. All administrative, actuarial, and investment management fees paid by the corporation for the pension plan are generally tax-deductible expenses.
Retained earnings are a tax trap. They face corporate taxes and, if passive income exceeds $50,000, they erode your Small Business Deduction. Pension contributions bypass corporate tax entirely, converting taxable corporate assets into tax-sheltered trust assets.
Strategy
Neither is 'better'; they serve different needs. The IPP offers 'forced savings' and maximum security for risk-averse investors (ages 40+). The PPP offers 'variable savings' and maximum control for active investors from age 19.
Yes. You can transfer existing RRSP assets into the plan to consolidate your wealth. This is often done to purchase 'Past Service' pension credits.
Yes, but with strategic timing. Participation in a PPP creates a 'Pension Adjustment' (PA) that reduces future RRSP room. However, in the first year of setup, you may be able to 'Double Dip'—funding your PPP for the current year while simultaneously filling your RRSP room from the previous year.
You have broad freedom, but you must respect pension standards. To ensure long-term security, you cannot hold more than 10% of the plan assets in a single security. The PPP® is designed for wealth accumulation, not high-risk speculation.
IPP Questions
Legacy IPPs can be seamlessly transferred to INTEGRIS management. If your needs have evolved, we can convert your existing IPP into a PPP®, unlocking the ability to switch between Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution modes.
The IPP is ideal for the 'Wealth Guardian'—business owners aged 40+ drawing a T4 salary of at least $60,000 who prefer predictable, government-regulated pension outcomes over investment risk. Below age 40 the actuarial math rarely beats a PPP®, so younger high-income owners are usually better served by the PPP®'s flexibility. And if you prefer to trade purely in volatile stocks or need to skip contributions frequently, the PPP® is the better fit from age 19.
RCA Questions
It is not a "tax" in the traditional sense; it is a non-interest-bearing deposit. The 50% refundable tax was set to mirror the top personal tax rate when the RCA regime was introduced, so there's no advantage to deferring through an RCA. It is held by the CRA and refunded to your trust ($1 for every $2 paid out) as you draw benefits — and with today's top rates above 50% in most provinces, the deposit rate now sits slightly below the top personal rate.
No — this is strictly prohibited. Holding personal-use assets (like a cottage or condo) triggers severe anti-avoidance taxes under the Income Tax Act — up to 100% of the value of the benefit received. The RCA is an institutional pension tool, not a lifestyle portfolio.
Corporate retained earnings face a 'Tax Wall.' If your corporation earns more than $50,000 in passive investment income, you start losing your Small Business Deduction (SBD). Contributing to an RCA removes these assets from your corporate balance sheet, protecting your low corporate tax rate.
Still have questions?
Our pension specialists are ready to help you find the right solution.
Speak with a Specialist