Budget 2026 proposes RRSP for life, ending RRIF switch

Ottawa’s 2026 budget proposes an “RRSP for life” that would end the requirement to convert a registered retirement savings plan into a registered retirement income fund at age 71, but nothing changes yet and the budget gives no start date.

The measure was tabled on Thursday, Nov. 5, as part of the budget from Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne. Searches for the change were among the top trends in Canada on Saturday, with Google Trends showing more than 20,000 searches for “canada federal budget rrsp changes” over the past 24 hours.

Under current rules, Canadians must close their RRSP by the end of the year they turn 71. They can cash it out, buy an annuity or move the money into a RRIF, which carries a minimum amount that must be withdrawn each year. The government’s plan would combine the two account types, so savers would keep a single account for life, according to reports from Global News, Investment Executive and The Globe and Mail.

The change is mainly one of paperwork. Required withdrawals would still begin after age 71, and the ban on making new contributions after that age would stay in place. In other words, retirees would not gain the ability to leave their savings untouched, and they would not be allowed to keep adding to the account.

The industry had asked for more. Groups including CALU had urged Ottawa to raise the conversion age to 74 or 75 and to push back the age at which contributions must stop. The budget does not move either age, according to Investment Executive.

A second question is left open. The budget says it has yet to be determined whether a “successor holder” feature could be added to an RRSP and how that could be done. Today, a spouse or common-law partner can be named a successor holder of a RRIF, which lets the account pass on without being cashed out. Whether the same would apply to an RRSP for life is not settled.

There is also no timeline. The budget describes the RRSP for life as an intention of the government. The budget implementation bill must pass the House of Commons and the Senate before any change takes effect, and the merger could require follow-up changes to federal pension regulations and to provincial laws, according to the reports.

For now, the rules in place are the ones that apply. Anyone turning 71 this year still has to decide by Dec. 31 what to do with an RRSP. Contribution limits for the current year are unchanged by this proposal; see our report on the TFSA and RRSP limits.

The RRSP for life is one of several measures in the budget that affect household finances. Our guide, Budget 2026 explained: what it means for your wallet, covers the new groceries benefit, the workers benefit, the caregiver credit and the fuel tax timeline. Our budget-day report is Budget 2026 projects $62.3B deficit, launches $25B fund.

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