Oaken GICs - Truly Non-Redeemable Unless Cashable or on Death? | Page 2 | Oaken Financial | Discussion forum

topgoat said
Thanks for the comments. Based on paragraph 35 of Oaken's Terms and Conditions for Personal savings and GIC non-registered investments, it does not appear that Oaken ordinarily allows for early redemption of non-redeemable GICs, and as someone pointed out, I would suspect this is especially true with recent events as they are. Does anyone think it is even worth asking?  

Would it help your situation if Oaken allowed some changes to increase your CDIC coverage?

Suppose one had a $150,000 Oaken GIC issued by Home Trust. $50,000 is above the $100,000 limit and not covered by CDIC.

Oaken has two CDIC members: Home Trust and Home Bank.

If Oaken allowed one to afterwards subdivide the GIC into two $75,000 GIC's (with no change in maturity and interest rate) and change the issuer on one to Home Bank, then $75,000 would be issued by CDIC member Home Trust and $75,000 would be issued by another CDIC member Home Bank. The entire $150,000 would be CDIC insured.

Perhaps, one could ask if that is possible.

Loonie said
FWIW, I don't think Oaken is very flexible on terms. I asked them once about RIFs. My question was whether one could adjust the withdrawal amount during the term of an RIF GIC. In other words, let's say you had opted for the minimum withdrawal and later found you needed more regular income. The answer was vague and not encouraging. However, they didn't say it was completely impossible.
This is not quite the same as cashing it in, but is the equivalent of cashing in a small portion every month.
It actually made me think that GICs may not be the best thing for RIFs.  

I had a look at Oaken's Terms and Conditions for Retirement Income Fund.

The wording of section 6 suggest that one can change the RRIF payments for next year but not the payments being made in the current year. Perhaps that why they didn't outright say Yes or No:

6. Making Payments

…. Payments to your from the Plan will begin on or before December 31 of the second calendar year of the Plan. You may specify in the Application the amount and frequency of the payments to be made during the year, provided that the aggregate amount is not less than the required Minimum Amount and does not exceed the value of the property held in connection with the Plan immediately before the time of payment. In each subsequent year, we will pay the same amounts, subject to the foregoing limitations, unless you provide instructions in writing to us to change the amount or frequency of the payments or require additional payments. If you do not specify an amount on the Application, or the amount you specify for any year is less than the Minimum Amount for that year, we will pay you the required Minimum Amount for that year. Payments will be made net of all proper charges, including income tax required to be held withheld. ….

I think mandatory RRIF withdrawals starting the next calendar year, after RRIF account is opened, is always the case.

I remember those T2033 RRSP/RRIF transfer forms. The relinquishing financial institution certifies that it has paid or will pay the RRIF annuitant the minimum amount for the current year. Consequently, the receiving institution won't have to make any payments until next year.

I just navigate at oaken online banking, at Service Center->Frequently Asked Question->Maturity Instruction, there is the following question:
...
How do I early redeem my cashable GIC?

If you are simply redeeming it, you can do this by clicking on the redeem icon. However if you're redeeming to invest part of the funds in another GIC, you will need to call us at 1‑855‑OAKEN‑22 (625‑3622).

...

So obviously, you can 'early redeem' your 'cashable GIC'!

Norman1 said

If Oaken allowed one to afterwards subdivide the GIC into two $75,000 GIC's (with no change in maturity and interest rate) and change the issuer on one to Home Bank, …

Brimleychen said

Yes. Confirm that you can split into two issuers. Oaken Financial Customer Service is good.  

Thanks, Brimleychen. That's good to know.