Can your employer contribute part or all of your retroactive sums to RRSPs and TFSAs?
RRSP
Yes, it is possible if the employer agrees to do so. As long as you can provide proof that there is sufficient space in your RRSP (your last federal RRSP assessment notice, for example), your employer will be able to transfer the funds directly into your RRSP account.
Note that in such a case your employer will not deduct taxes but will deduct fringe benefit sums (QPP, employment insurance and QPIP). Which means you will not have this additional deduction when filing your tax returns since taxes will not have been withheld at source.
One-off contributions to the Fonds de solidarité FTQ are no longer accepted due to the Fund’s cap in 2021, but contributions made by payroll deduction are. You will benefit from a 30% tax credit if your additional contribution does not exceed $5,000 for the year.
There are no one-off contribution restrictions for the Caisse Desjardins de l’Éducation. If you want to contribute to your RRSP at the Caisse Desjardins de l’éducation, you need only fill out this form and an advisor from the Caisse Desjardins de l’Éducation will contact you. Note that the Caisse already has an agreement with several school boards and centers which can facilitate the contribution procedure. You will need to verify this with your payroll department.
TFSA
Direct transfers by your employer to your account are not possible with TFSAs, because it is the net amount of taxes that must be invested in a TFSA with all deductions already made. When you receive your retroactivity, however, it will still be possible to invest in a TFSA with our partners, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the Caisse Desjardins de l’Éducation.