Can I designate more than one beneficiary of my RRSP?

Most financial institutions permit you to designate more than one individual as the beneficiaries of your RRSP assets. For example, if you want to name your four children as the beneficiary of your RRSP assets, the financial institution that administers your RRSP should have a form that enables you to designate your four children as the beneficiaries. You can designate that each of the four children are to receive equal shares or 25% each or you can vary the percentage each beneficiary is to receive, as long as the total percentages equal 100%.

Note: Check with your financial institution to see if they permit multiple beneficiaries be designated. If the financial institution administering your registered account does not permit multiple designations in their registered account documentation and designating multiple beneficiaries is important for the success of your estate plan, you can still make the multiple designation through your will. This is accomplished by designating your estate as the beneficiary in the account’s documentation and then including a designation of multiple beneficiaries in your will.

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