Education savings plans profitable but undervalued

Registered education savings plans(RESPs) have been around since the 1970s, and while they have seen significant growth across Canada in recent years, there's evidence they still don't get the respect they deserve from investors.

"Based on our experience, parents tend to underweight the value of RESPs,"said Tina Fournier-Ouellet, a spokesperson for Quebec City-based Universitas Trust Funds, a non-profit scholarship providerthat manages close to $800 million in assets.

An RESP is a way ofsetting aside moneyfor someone's post-secondary education that someone, although usually a child, can be another adult or eventhe person who sets up the RESP.

The money is paid into an accountthat is administered bya so-called promoter, usually a financial institution but also specialized RESP administrators known as group scholarship plan dealers, such as Universitas. The promoter pays out the money to the beneficiary once he or she starts attending an eligible post-secondary institution. If the intended beneficiary doesn't end up pursuing higher education, the money is paid back to those whocontributed to the RESP.

Almost anyone can be an RESP contributor a parent, grandparent, other relative orfriend and federal and provincial governments can also make contributions through various grants. As of 2007, there is no annual contribution limit, but there is a lifetime cap on contributions of $50,000 per beneficiary.

Money inside an RESP can be invested in stocks, mutual funds, guaranteed income certificates and other investment vehicles although there are differences depending on whether the RESP is a self-directed or a group plan (see sidebar below).

While contributions to an RESP cannot be deducted from your income like those to an RRSP, the capital gains that accrue within an RESP are sheltered from tax as long as they are used by the beneficiary for post-secondary education.

RESP investment growing

The most recent government statisticsshow thatinvestment in RESPs is growing.

Assets held in RESPs in Canada have been growing at double-digit ratesin recent years and by the end of 2013, totalled $40.5billion.

Contributions rose to $3.9billion in 2013, an increase of fourper cent over the previous year. The average annual contribution that year was $1,474, only slightly above the average for 2012,which was $1,455.

Nevertheless, market research commissioned by Universitas suggestsRRSPs and tax-free savings accounts are more than four times more popular than RESPs among the investors sampled.

That's based on 1,000 questionnaires completed during an online CROP survey conducted in Quebec in January.

That's no surprise, given that RESPs' primary purpose isof interest to a much smaller market segment: namely,those saving for their children's post-secondary education.

"Only seven per cent of respondents mentioned they are aware that the federal and provincial in Quebec governments also invest into a child's RESP," said Fournier-Ouellet. "Based on these results, we can conclude most parents don't know that RESPs may be profitable in the long term."

Many parents are unaware that the RESP can also be a savings plan for adults, with the capital invested returned in full to the subscriber, who can then choose to give this amount to the child as additional funds for school or transfer it to an RRSP and enjoy the benefits of both the RESP and RRSP.

Government grants can bulk up accounts

RESP accounts can also get a boost through thegovernment'sCanada Education Savings Grants.Under that program, the federal government contributes 20 per cent of the annual contribution you maketo an RESPupto an annual maximum of $500 for each beneficiary ($1,000, if there is unused grant room from a previous year) anda lifetime limit of $7,200.

There are also additionalgrant amounts, which vary according to income. In 2014, a family with a net income of $87,907or less would have been eligible for those.

Ottawa also provides total incentives of up to $2,000 for modest-income families through theCanada Learning Bond.

Quebec,Albertaand Saskatchewan provide added incentives.

Depending on family income and which province is involved, government incentives "may represent up to $12,800 for a child's post-secondary education," Fournier-Ouellet told CBC News.

RESP contributions must be used within 35 years from when the plan was established. If the assets are not paid out to the beneficiary, the bank, insurance company, trust or other firm administering the RESP usually pays them to the subscriber at the end of the contract.

Andeven if the beneficiary doesn't attend a university, college or trade school, the contributors can still get back what they paid in but not the government amounts as well as thecapital gains, although those will be subject to tax.

Or they can transferthe assets to an RRSP without tax penalty, if there's enough contribution room.