LIRAs and L-RSPs are designed for your savings and investments when you leave a company-sponsored pension plan.
Generally, you are not permitted to withdraw from these accounts until retirement (earliest age is 55) in order for the funds to provide ‘lifetime income’.
However, there are a few specific ways in which you can ‘unlock’ your account in certain, special situations if you require access to the funds.
Every locked-in retirement account has a specific pension legislation attached to it. These are ‘inherited’ from the original company-sponsored pension plan, and are either Provincial, or Federal. Every province also treats these plans differently.
If you are unsure about your account’s specific pension legislation, please reference your documents from either your former employer, or the institution who used to hold the pension. Alternatively, you can also contact us for this information if you already have an account set up.
Please consult these government pages for the most up-to-date information about the ‘unlocking’ options for your specific account:
- Federal - (Includes PEI & all three Territories)
- Ontario
- British Columbia
- Alberta
- Quebec
- Manitoba
- Saskatchewan
- Nova Scotia
- Newfoundland & Labrador
- New Brunswick
We make every effort to keep this list of links updated, however government websites are subject to updates and changes at any time without notice.
To make a special withdrawal request from your LIRA or L-RSP, please complete a Questrade Letter of Direction form and all of the required government forms, then submit all forms to Questrade. The letter of direction can be uploaded through the trading platform, but the government forms must be mailed directly to Questrade. Unfortunately, due to pension legislation, federal and provincial unlocking forms cannot be accepted electronically via email or upload.
If you require additional assistance, or have questions about the different unlocking options, you can also contact us.
