What Is The Canada Learning Bond?

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The Canada Learning Bond & RESPs

What is an RESP?

A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is an education savings account that is registered with the Government of Canada. It allows you to earn interest, and grows tax-free until your child is ready to attend post-secondary education.

There are two ways the government can help you save with an RESP: The Canada Learning Bond and The Canada Education Savings Grant.

What is the Canada Learning Bond?

The Canada Learning Bond (CLB) is a grant from the Government of Canada to help kick-start the education savings account of eligible children with up to $2000 of free money. You are not required to contribute any money to receive this grant.

Your child is eligible if:

• they are born in 2004 or later
• they lived in Canada before they turned 15 years old
• their family's income met eligibility criteria for at least one year (click here for more information)

They can receive $500 the first year they are eligible, and an additional $100 every year they are eligible until they turn 15 years old. (The money can be claimed retroactively, even after they turn 15!)

Are you a student turning 18 in 2022? If you are eligible for the Canada Learning Bond, you have until the day before you turn 21 years old to apply for it (click here for more information).

What is the Canada Education Savings Grant?

The Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) is a grant where the Government of Canada matches a portion of contributions in a child's RESP. Every child is eligible for the CESG regardless of their family's income. Contributions can be made until the end of the year the child turns 15 years old (and in some cases, until the child turns 17).

They could receive a 20% matching contribution on the first $2500 contributed per year. That's a potential total of $500 extra per year for your child's education!

Depending on your family income, some children will qualify for an additional 10-20% match on the first $500 contributed. That could be an extra $100 per year!