Many years ago when RRSP season rolled around we didn’t have much cash available to make a contribution. We did, however, have compound interest Canada Savings Bonds with good long term rates. At that time the government offered a program called the Canada Retirement Savings Plan. This plan allowed you to hold Canada Savings Bonds directly in a RRSP account. There were no fees to transfer bonds into or out of the plan. (An actual withdrawal of the bonds or their equivalent value was taxable.) So we phoned the 1-800 number before the February RRSP contribution deadline and then mailed our bond certificates in to Ottawa. There the bonds sat continuing to churn out annual interest which was in turn reinvested and earned more interest. Until eventually, the bonds matured. Alas, the recent federal governments have regrettably been trying to shut down the Canada Savings Bond programs. So the days of decent interest rates are, at least temporarily, over. It is time for us to move our investments as they mature out of the Canada Retirement Savings Plan and into other places. This is how we transferred the cash from a Canada Retirement Savings Plan to our ING Direct, now Tangerine.ca, RSP Investment Savings Account.

This same procedure works for a transfer from any bank or financial institution to ING Direct Tangerine.

UPDATE: Please be aware that as of January 2015, Tangerine has started charging a fee if you transfer your RRSP or TFSA from Tangerine to another bank, credit union, brokerage or financial institution.

I would no longer transfer RRSP or TFSA money to Tangerine unless I planned to keep it there for the long term.

To Transfer Cash to a Tangerine RRSP from another RRSP

To Log In to Tangerine

1. Go to tangerine.ca
2. Click on the I’m a Client, let me in link.
3. In the Log me in text field, type your Client Number, Card Number or Username.
4. Click on the Go button.
5. In the Answer field, type the answer to Your Secret Question.
6. Click on the Next button.
7. Verify Your Picture and Your Phrase are correct. Then In the Personal Identification Number field, type Your PIN.
8. Click on the Go button.

***BONUS***
Unlike most financial institutions, ING Direct Tangerine will begin paying you interest on the cash you transfer to your ING Direct Tangerine RRSP starting on the date that the RSP Direct Transfer transaction request is completed. To receive the interest, the funds must be transferred by the other financial institution within 60 days after the request is submitted.

***BONUS***
At the time this was written in June 2013, ING Direct Tangerine does not charge any fee to transfer RRSP money out to another bank or financial institution. [It still doesn’t in March, 2014.] So for now we’re moving our money from the Canada RSP into ING Direct Tangerine. Then it may move again to CIBC Investor’s Edge or BMO InvestorLine or RBC Direct Investing. So many choices!

***BOO-HOO***
Unfortunately, at the time this was written ING Direct Tangerine will not generally pay any fees you may be charged by the other bank or financial institution for transferring money out of their RRSP plan. So, for example, if CIBC charges you $100 to transfer out your RRSP, ING Direct Tangerine will NOT reimburse you this amount.

To Get and Complete the T2033 Form from Tangerine

1. From the links listed on the left side of the screen, click on Transfer RSPs.
2. Read the instructions. You will complete the form online, print it out, sign it and mail or fax it to Tangerine.
3. Click on the Next button.

For the Amount section

1. Click to select either
   • Transfer all my funds, or
   • Transfer a partial amount
   1. If you select to transfer all your funds, in the Approximate value $ field, type about how much money should be transferred.
   2. If you select a partial amount, in the $ field, type the amount
2. Read the warning that your other institution will probably charge you a fee to make the transfer. These fees are often $100 or more.
3. From the drop-down list, select which Financial Institution from which you are requesting the transfer.
   • If it’s not listed, select Other.
   • For Other, also type the Name of the Financial Institution in the field with that name.
     For the Canada Retirement Savings Plan, I typed: Trustee CSB Registered Products
4. In the Account Number field, type the account number for your RRSP at the sending financial institution.
5. In the Name of Plan field, type the descriptive name for the RRSP plan your money is currently in.
   For example, I might type
   • RRSP Daily Interest Savings for my CIBC RRSP account; or
   • Canada Retirement Savings S045 for my Canada Savings Bonds retirement bond series.
6. As directed, type in the postal code for the sending bank and click on the Get Address button.
7. If it can the Tangerine computer will put an address in the Street #, Street Name, City and Province boxes.
   If fields are left blank or are incorrect, type and select the information to provide the mailing address for the financial institution that will be sending the RRSP money to Tangerine.
8. From the drop-down list answer Yes or No for whether you a trying to transfer a GIC.
9. Click on the Next button.

In the Investment Section

1. Choose where you want the RSP cash to be invested once it arrives at ING Direct Tangerine. You can choose
   • an existing RSP ISA
   • a new RSP ISA
   • a new short-term RSP GIC
   • a new RSP GIC
2. If you select your existing RSP ISA it will ask you to select the appropriate account from the drop-down list.
3. If you select a new short-term RSP GIC it will ask you to select the Term and the Renewal Options.
4. If you select a new RSP GIC, it will ask you to select the Term, Renewal Options and whether to Compound the Interest each year it is earned, or whether to deposit the interest annually into another RSP investment.
5. Click on the Next button.

If you are not transferring to an existing RSP ISA, a Legal Section will open.
In the Legal Section

1. Read the anti-money-laundering information.
2. From the drop-down list select whether any third party or other person will benefit from this account. (The usual answer is No.)
3. Read the legal terms about applying for an ING product. From the drop-down list select whether you accept the terms.
4. Click on the Next button.

In the Summary Section

1. Review all the information for your request to transfer RSP money from one financial institution to ING Direct Tangerine.
2. If the information is correct, click on the Submit button.
3. Print off the T2033 form.
4. Click on the Log me out tab.
5. For increased security, close your browser session.
6. Sign and date the form.
7. Mail the form to ING Direct Tangerine or fax it.
   As of June, 2013, the address for ING Direct Tangerine is:
   ING Direct Tangerine
   111 Gordon Baker Road
   Toronto, Ontario
   M2H 3R1
   As of June, 2014, the address for Tangerine is:
   Tangerine
   3389 Steeles Avenue East
   Toronto, Ontario
   M2H 3S8
   Also mail or fax a copy of your most recent RRSP statement from the sending bank or financial institution. (This helps the two companies be sure they are talking about the same RRSP investments.)
8. WAIT.

It can often take 2-6 weeks for the transfer to be made.

Related Reading

• Transferring RRSP Cash from CIBC to a BMO InvestorLine RRSP Account
• How to Transfer Assets to a BMO InvestorLine Account from Another Bank Using a T2033 Form

Join In
Did you join the Canada Savings Bonds Retirement Plan? Are you sorry to see CSBs on the endangered investments list? Please share your opinions with a comment.