How to Trace Your RRSP Exclusion

By Clara Richardson

When your relationship ends, and you separate from your spouse, dividing your assets can be a complex process. One asset that is subject to division with your spouse is your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (“RRSP”).

However, if you made contributions to your RRSP before your relationship began, the value of your RRSP at the date cohabitation began may be considered “excluded property”, meaning that the historical value of your RRSP may not be subject to division, and may remain your sole asset.

But what if you don’t remember the historical value of your RRSP at the date cohabitation began?  Determining how much you contributed to your RRSP before the relationship started can be challenging; people rarely keep paper records nowadays, and banks only hold on to your records for a certain number of years, before permanently destroying them.

There are two easy ways to determine your historical RRSP contributions: calling the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) directly or going online to your personal CRA account.

Option 1: To obtain a complete history of your historical RRSP contributions, you can simply phone the CRA directly at 1 (800) 959-8281. Ask them for a summary of all your RRSP contributions, and they will mail you a list of each RRSP contribution you made, in each year, going back decades. 

Option 2: If you have a CRA account online, simply log-in and look for “Prior Year RRSP Contribution History”.  This will show you a comprehensive record of your RRSP contribution history, as well as repayments to the Home Buyers’ Plan, if applicable. Although these methods may not provide the precise amount you contributed before the exact date of cohabitation, it offers a useful estimate of the excluded property you might be able to claim in relation to your RRSP