Canadian RRSPs Transfer
"Probably not. For your savings to enter an RRSP account, the recipient account must itself be an RRSP (duh! I hear you say). This appears to rule out any UK-based banks as they would not offer this type of account, which appears to be confirmed with a quick Google search returning no useful result for ""rrsp uk"". According to Income Tax Folio S3-F10-C1, Qualified Investments – RRSPs, RESPs, RRIFs, RDSPs and TFSAs, an RRSP may include listed securities traded on designated stock exchanges, including the London Stock Exchange. While this enables some possibilities, it is not clear that Canadian banks would offer much in the form of UK RRSPs. Your best bet may be to contact your bank and ask if they offer RRSP services for expats. Here is a list of Canadian banks in the UK. Obviously, this does not mean that they offer the type of service you are looking for (or even that they offer retail services, this may be just a trading office). Finally, if you need to move money from an RRSP to anything other than an RRSP this will trigger the inclusion of the sale proceeds as taxable income in that year."
I had this problem when I finished my job in Canada in Sept 2013.   You'll likely have to open the account in person in Canada, at least if you don't already have a relationship with a broker there. DO NOT go to Virtual Brokers.  They told me that my US citizenship was no problem, but right before I left Canada to double check.  It wasn't until I asked specifically which US states they were licensed in that they realized they were licensed in NO US STATES. They told me that they'd freeze my account when I left. I then moved my (former) pension to a locked-in RRSP at BMO.  As of September 2010 BMO could handle residents of most US states, but it took some tooth pulling to get the list out of them.  However, after I flew to the USA, BMO called to demand more ID.  My account was frozen until I flew back to Canada in person just to show ID. Annoyed, I closed the BMO account and moved it to TD Waterhouse.  TD waterhouse can handle accounts for residents of all the US states EXCEPT Virginia, Louisiana, and Nebraska.  (I only got the complete list of exceptions when I made my first trade, since the guys at the trading desk are much more knowledgeable about such things than the guys in the branch.)  TD was extremely friendly about my USA citizenship/residence.  (Many Canadian brokers simply won't accept US residents, at least as of the end of 2013.) Whichever broker you choose, BRING LOTS MORE ID than they require.  Insist that they zerox it all. Make sure to include your social security card.  You don't want them to demand more ID after you've left the country, like BMO did.  They may even make such a move simply to get rid of US customers, because the FATCA is a pain for foreign banks. "You will be able to use the subsequent 4% matching contributions as repayments toward the HBP in the same tax year. You can designate it as such when you do your tax return for the year. Note that the first payment for HBP will be in the second year after you withdraw from your RRSP, but you are free to designate any contributions before this time toward the HBP repayment. One blog post indicates that if you pay more than the minimum amount in any year (including pre-payments prior to the first required payment), ""future payments will be the remaining amount owing divided by the number of payment years remaining."" My experience with my LLP repayment (similar to HBP) is the same." I don't believe there is any particular structural or financial reason that outgoing wire transfers cost so much in Canada, their costs are no higher than other countries (and lower than many).  Wires seem to be an area where the Canadian banks have decided people don't comparison shop, so it's not a competitive advantage to offer a better price. The rates you quoted are on the low side: $80 for a largish international wire is not unusual, and HSBC charges up to $150! There are several alternative ways to transfer money domestically in Canada. If the recipient banks at the same bank, it's possible to go into a branch and transfer money directly from your own account to their account (I've never been charged for this).  The transfer is immediate.  But it couldn't be done online, last time I checked. For transfers where you don't know the recipients bank account, you can pay online with Interac E-Transfers, offered by most Canadian banks.  It's basically e-mailing money.  It usually costs $1 to $1.50 per transfer, and has limits on how much you can send per day/week. Each of the banks also have a bill-pay service, but unlike similar services in the US (where they mail a paper check if the recipient isn't on their system), each Canadian bank has a limited number of possible payees (mostly utilities, governments, major stores). Short answer: yes. Long answer: you have to check with Desjardins if you can buy other funds using their broker, but if not you can just open another RRSP account with a better broker who gives you this option. You can open an many RRSPs as you wish. If you are really unhappy with Desjardins, you can then transfer your money from there to your new broker without being exposed to tax. http://www.getsmarteraboutmoney.ca/en/managing-your-money/investing/rrsps-for-retirement/Pages/RRSP-transfers.aspx#.VlOBSHpVKlM If possible, I would open a Canadian bank account with a bank such as TD Canada Trust. You can then have your payments wired into that account without incurring costs on receipt. They also allow access to their US ATM network via TD Bank without additional costs. So you could use the American Affiliate to pull the funds out via a US teller while only bearing the cost of currency conversion. If that option can't work then the best route would be to choose a US bank account that doesn't charge for incoming wire transfers and request that the money be wired to your account (you'll still get charged the conversion rate when the wire is in CAD and the account is in USD). As far as the RRSP goes, see my answer in  self directed RRSP for a non resident Don't forget to file your FBAR and form 8938, if applicable. -Jon I believe your question is based on a false premise. First, no broker, that I know of, provides an RRSP account that is a margin account. RRSP accounts follow cash settlement rules.  If you don't have the cash available, you can't buy a stock.  You can't borrow money from your broker within your RRSP. If you want to borrow money to invest in your RRSP, you must borrow outside from another source, and make a contribution to your RRSP.  And, if you do this, the loan interest is not considered tax deductible. In order for investment loan interest to be tax deductible, you'd need to invest outside of a registered type of account, e.g. using a regular non-tax-sheltered account. Even then, what you can deduct may be limited. Refer to CRA - Line 221 - Carrying charges and interest expenses: You can claim the following carrying charges and interest [...] [...]   You cannot deduct on line 221 any of the following amounts: If you can make the trip to BC yourself, I'd recommend opening an account with TD Canada Trust.  They allow non-citizens to make accounts — apparently the only Canadian bank to do so.  The customer service is great and they have a good online banking site that will allow you to manage it from the US. If you have an account with TD Bank in the US, it's also very easy to set up a TD Canada account through them that will be linked on their online site (though you will still have separate logins for both and manage them separately).  I've done the reverse as a Canadian living in the US.  You can set it up over the phone; their Cross-Border Banking number is listed here.  They also offer better currency conversion rates than their standard ones when you do a cross-border transfer. You could also look into HSBC as well.  They operate in Washington as well as across the border in BC.  If you can't open a CAD account locally, they can help you open and manage one in Canada from the US.  It may or may not require having a small business account instead of a personal account. "Your question is based on incorrect assumptions. Generally, there's no ""penalty"", per se, to make a withdrawal from your RRSP, even if you make a withdrawal earlier than retirement, however you define it. A precise meaning for ""retirement"" with respect to RRSPs is largely irrelevant.* Our U.S. neighbours have a 10% penalty on non-hardship early withdrawals (before age 59 &half;) from retirement accounts like the 401k and IRA. It's an additional measure designed to discourage early withdrawals, and raise more tax.  Yet, in Canada, there is no similar penalty. Individual investments inside your RRSP may have associated penalties, such as the dreaded ""deferred sales charge"" (DSC) of some back-end loaded mutual funds, or such as LSVCC funds that generated additional special tax credits that could get clawed back.  Yet, these early withdrawal penalties are distinct from the RRSP nature of your account.  Choose your investments carefully to avoid these kinds of surprises. Rather, an RRSP is a tax-deferred account, and it works like this:  The government allows you to claim a nice juicy tax deduction, which can reduce your income tax at your marginal rate in the year you make a contribution, or later if you should choose to defer the deduction. The resulting pre-tax money accumulated in your RRSP benefits from further tax deferral: assets can grow without attracting annual income tax on earned interest, dividends, or capital gains. You don't need to declare on your income tax return any of the income earned inside your RRSP, unlike a regular investment account. Here's the rub: Once you decide to withdraw money from your RRSP, the entire amount withdrawn is considered regular income in the year in which you make the withdrawal.  Thus, your withdrawals are subject to income tax, and yes, at your marginal rate.  This is always the case, whether before or after retirement. You mentioned two special programs: The Home Buyers' Plan (HBP), and the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP).  Neither the HBP nor the LLP permit tax-free withdrawals.  Rather, each of these programs are special kinds of loans that you can borrow from your own RRSP. HBP and LLP loan money isn't taxed when you get it because you are required to pay it back, and you pay it back into your own RRSP: You always pay income tax at your marginal rate on your RRSP withdrawals.** * Above, I said a precise meaning for ""retirement"" with respect to RRSPs is largely irrelevant.  Yet, there are ages that matter:  By the end of the year in which you turn 71, you are required to convert your RRSP to a RRIF. It's similar, but you can no longer contribute, and you must withdraw a minimum amount each year. Other circumstances related to age may qualify for minor tax relief intended for retirees, such as the Age Amount or the Pension Income Credit.  Generally, such measures don't significantly change the fact that you pay income tax on RRSP withdrawals at your marginal rate – these measures raise the minimum you can take out without attracting tax, but most do nothing at the margin.** ** Exception: One might split eligible pension income with a spouse or common-law partner, which may reduce tax at the margin." On pensions, part of the issue will be how well funded they are.  Most pensions are not completely funded.   In the US pension payments are insured to an annual cap by the PBGC. So you can loose out on part of your pension payment. I don't know what/if there is an equivalent in Canada. Dazed, an RESP is a type of account.  Within the RESP, you can have cash, investments or even savings vehicles like GICs etc.  So depending on where you put the money within the RESP, yes, there is a chance of losing money. If you think your children will attend post secondary education, I don't think that there is a better way to save.  The government will match 20% of your contribution, up to a maximum grant of $500 per year. To take advantage of the grant, we contribute $2500 per year to obtain the maximum $500 grant. Hope this helps! You can withdraw from your RRSP to pay your taxes. While not necessarily advisable, it is permitted — yet the tax consequences are no different just because you happen to be using the money to pay a prior year's income tax balance due. When you make the withdrawal from your RRSP, an amount will be withheld towards your income tax for the withdrawal year. Assuming you have other income, then you are likely to owe CRA even more than the amount withheld, because the withdrawal is effectively taxed at your marginal rate. In that case, consider the withholding tax merely a downpayment. You'll figure the final amount due when you file your next income tax return. e.g. If you were to withdraw money from your RRSP today (in 2015) to pay your 2014 income tax balance due, then on your 2015 income tax return, you'll need to declare the withdrawn amount as income for 2015. You'll get credit for the withholding taxes already paid when you made the withdrawal. Your tax return will indicate how much more you'll need to pay to settle your 2015 taxes. If you then pay your 2015 income tax balance due with an RRSP withdrawal in 2016, then ... repeat. Better to save up funds elsewhere (e.g. in a bank account, or a TFSA) to cover an anticipated income tax balance owing. No it's not, not until a disposition.  Keep track of the CAD value on the day you receive the inheritance and get an average cost.  Then every time you go to the US and spend some money, record the CAD value on the day you spend it.  The difference is your profit or loss.  There is no capital gain as long as you don't spend it. Now this may seem ridiculous, especially since none of this is reported to the CRA.  They realize this and say the first $200 profit or loss is not taxable. You probably bought the cross listed WestJet stock.  If you wanted to buy shares on the TSE, I'd suspect you'd have to find a way to open a brokerage account within Canada and then you'd be able to buy the shares.  However, this could get complicated to some extent as there could be requirements of Canadian tax stuff like a Social Insurance Number that may require some paperwork.  In addition, you'd have to review tax law of both countries to determine how to appropriately report to each country your income as there are various rules around that. TD Waterhouse would be the Canadian subsidiary of TD Ameritrade though I haven't tried to create a Canadian brokerage account. Just saw the update: Here's some ETFs for Canada from Vanguard.