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Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)

Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)

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Benefits of an RESP

Enjoy free government grants

Extra incentives for lower income earners

Variety of investment opportunities

Withdrawal of grants and income at beneficiary’s tax bracket

When to open an RESP

Looking to add an RESP to your investment portfolio? Here are the main reasons investors open this account.

Saving for your (or someone else’s) child’s post-secondary education with an Individual RESP

Saving for 2 or more of your children’s post-secondary education with a Family RESP

Saving for post-secondary education for yourself

The RESP’s need-to-know numbers

$50,000

RESP contribution lifetime limit per child

20%

Every year, you’ll receive a 20% grant (Canadian Education Savings Grant) on the first $2,500 you deposit

$7,200

The lifetime maximum for the Canadian Education Savings Grant

Open an RESP

Your money is in good hands

With Questrade, you can rest assured that your money, your account and your personal information are protected.

We're regulated by CIRO and a CIPF member.

CIRO logo Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization CIPF logo Canadian Investor Protection Fund

Choose from two great ways to invest

Hand-pick the assets you’re most interested in with self-directed investing, or let experts handle the portfolio management for you with Questwealth Portfolios.

Self-directed investing

I want to invest by myself

  • Trade stocks for as little as 1¢/share 1, buy ETFs for free 1, and more

  • Find fresh new trading ideas with easy-to-use research tools

  • Mobile, web or desktop—trade your way on powerful platforms

questwealth portfolios

I want experts to invest for me

  • Account management fees starting at only 0.25%

  • Get matched with a portfolio suited to you in 15 minutes or less

  • You can invest in companies focused on social, environmental and governance qualities

How do I open an RESP?

In three easy steps, you can get closer to your goals.

Open an RESP

Get answers to frequently asked questions

In an RESP, you can hold cash, stocks, ETFs, long options, mutual funds, bonds, gold and silver, GICs, and more.

Once the child (beneficiary) enrolls in a qualifying education program, she or he can withdraw funds directly from the account. The income portion will be taxed at the beneficiary’s marginal tax bracket, which is typically low for students.

Any adult can open an RESP account for a child — parents, guardians, grandparents, other relatives, and friends. Adults can also open RESPs for themselves.

We’re here to help you get started

Our account specialists are available to assist with any account-related questions you may have, and to help you get set up.

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Reach us by phone

Toll-free Within Canada

1.888.298.4515

From the U.S.

1.416.227.6615

International

(001) 416.227.6615

Phone hours

Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM to 8 PM ET

Saturday-Sunday, 9:00 AM to 5 PM ET

Learn more about RESPs

Looking for more information on RESPs? Check out these great resources.

Female student studying on laptop

RESPs 101

Understand the basics of Registered Education Savings Plans.

Read article
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Exploring government grants

Discover which government grants are available with an RESP.

Read article
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Québec Education Savings Initiative

Learn about the Québec Education Savings Initiative (QESI).

Read article

1 Exchange and ECN fees may apply. Only applies to Canadian and US listed ETFs.

For Questwealth SRI portfolios, as there is no universal Socially Responsible Investing (“SRI”) methodology, the selection of the underlying securities in the Questwealth SRI portfolios is based on inputs from various industry sources, including Environmental, Social, Governance, and SRI methodologies. Certain portions of the fixed income component of the Questwealth SRI portfolios may not be recognized by these methodologies as exclusively SRI investments.