Registered deposits such as RRSPs, RRIFs, RESPs, RDSPs, FHSAs and TFSAs must be treated differently than other deposits to ensure the products and their related plans remain tax-sheltered.
For this reason, CDIC is unable to reimburse depositors directly. To preserve their registered status, these deposits must be transferred to another financial institution that offers identical products with the same registered status. This means, for example, an insured deposit held in an RRSP must be transferred into another RRSP and cannot be transferred to a different registered category such as a TFSA.
Please note: if you hold mutual funds, stocks, bonds, or ETFs in your registered accounts, they are not protected by CDIC. These financial products may be protected under different regimes.
What to expect
Reimbursement of insured registered deposits will take longer than non-registered deposits like those in a savings or chequing account to avoid tax implications.
Once the insurance determination calculation has been completed, CDIC will mail a separate letter and statement for each deposit insurance category holding registered deposits.
The letters and statements will contain important information, so please keep these documents for your reference.
Next Steps
- You must choose a new financial institution to receive the reimbursement of registered insured deposits.
You are free to choose any financial institution, however, the new financial institution must offer the same type of registered deposit as the closed institution (the terms of the deposit may vary but will not prevent the transfer of your funds). - You will need to open a new account and may need to provide information found on the statement, received from CDIC, to the new financial institution.
The new financial institution will complete the appropriate paperwork to initiate the transfer with the court-appointed liquidator who is acting as an agent of CDIC and the failed member in order to conduct the transfer. - Once the liquidator is appointed and receives and verifies the appropriate paperwork, insured deposits will be transferred to the new financial institution.