Best time to buy gics for withdrawing in retirement | GIC discussions | Discussion forum

RRIFs: I've just started mine recently. Yes, it's advantageous to leave tax-free money as long as possible. And you get it out closer to tax return time, too, in the new year.

All financial institutions are compelled bylaw to make minimum RRIF withdrawals, regardless of any lock-ins. They should follow your instructions or, of you didn't leave any, use their policy. Cracking the lowest-interest ones is best for the client, but I don't know if they all do it that way. My first withdrawal was last year, and went like clockwork.

NOTE: CRA says one must make them more than 15 days before or after year-end. So I use December 15.

There's no 15 day requirement for the minimum RRIF withdrawals.

The definition in Income Tax Act subsection 146.3(1) says the minimum must be taken each year:

retirement income fund means an arrangement between a carrier and an annuitant under which, in consideration for the transfer to the carrier of property, the carrier undertakes to pay amounts to the annuitant (and, where the annuitant so elects, to the annuitant’s spouse or common-law partner after the annuitant’s death), the total of which is, in each year in which the minimum amount under the arrangement for the year is greater than nil, not less than the minimum amount under the arrangement for that year, but the amount of any such payment does not exceed the value of the property held in connection with the arrangement immediately before the time of the payment. (fonds de revenu de retraite)

December 31 is still part of the year. So, one could withdraw all or the remaining part of the annual RRIF minimum for a year as late as December 31.

That's right. Feed RRIF account holders a made-up 15-day requirement from CRA to cover up their one-person RRIF processing department booking the last two weeks of December off each year!

I don't really see the sense of waiting until the last minute anyway, it's generally a slow time of year for many businesses due to stat holidays, staff taking time off, office holiday events, etc. so things are going to take longer in December. I've only had two years of mandated withdrawals so far and I've done whenever it's convenient for me or if it's a favourable time to liquidate some assets, so far done well before December.

I suppose if you have only GICs in a RRIF it's a given it's a declining asset, but in my case my RRIF FMV is higher than the day I opened it a few years ago. We'll see how long that goes on for. From what I can tell TDDI is as happy to have my RRIF business as for my other accounts with them, they've been very helpful whenever I've called them about withdrawal options. Now I know the drill so I don't anticipate needing to ever call them again about that account.