As a condition of most of the agreements negotiated by Equity, a deduction of 6% is made each week from your fees that will be contributed to your RRSP. Voluntary contributions may be made to your plan at any time throughout the year.
Contribution deadline
The RRSP contribution deadline is generally 60 days after the end of the calendar year (around the first day of March). Any contributions made throughout the previous year and any contributions made before the deadline will reduce your taxable income when filing your taxes.
Contribution limits
Your CRA Notice of Assessment from the previous year’s income taxes will have your contribution limit for the current year. Fluctuating income levels in our sector can sometimes lead to an over-contribution. There is a maximum lifetime allowance for over-contribution of $2,000, but if needed, you can complete a form T3012A to withdraw an over-contribution of funds without withholding tax.
What happens when you turn 71?
Contributions to an RRSP are only allowed until the end of the year a person turns 71. In the interest of protecting your privacy, Equity will not inform engagers when a member turns 71, which means an engager may continue to make RRSP deductions each time you work.
This leaves you with two options:
- You can inform your engagers directly that you have reached the age of 71 and are no longer eligible for RRSP contributions. It’s important that these instructions are included in a rider to all of your contracts to ensure the engager’s payroll department does not automatically deduct your contributions.
OR
- You can allow your engagers to continue deducting your contributions. When these funds are remitted to Equity, we will return them to you at the close of the productions.
There are other important changes to your RRSP that you should be aware of once you’ve turned 71 years old. To find out more, please consult the Government of Canada or login to My Canada Life at Work.
