Eliminating Mandatory Minimum RRIF Withdrawals

Every so often we see calls for the government to eliminate mandatory minimum RRIF withdrawals. Ted Rechtshaffen writes this “win-win change would be cheered by seniors and likely lead to higher taxes in the long run.” He fails to mention the tax-planning strategies it opens up for wealthy seniors.

Under current rules, Canadians have to turn their RRSPs into RRIFs and make minimum withdrawals by age 71. These withdrawals are taxed as regular income. Wealthier Canadians who don’t need this income tend not to like having to make these minimum withdrawals.

Here are a few ideas for tax planning if the government eliminates mandatory minimum withdrawals.

Marrying a much younger spouse

Normally, when you die, all your remaining RRIF/RRSP assets become taxable income. An exception is that you can pass these assets to a spouse’s RRIF without any tax consequences. Currently, this tends to happen after a RRIF has been depleted by mandatory minimum withdrawals. Without these withdrawals, a full lifetime of RRSP savings could be passed to a spouse. If that spouse is young, tax deferral could continue for decades.

Taking this idea further, suppose an old man and old woman with comparable-sized RRIFs enter into marriages of convenience. The man marries the woman’s daughter, and the woman marries the man’s son. After the man and woman die, they have effectively passed their RRIF assets to their children to benefit from another generation of tax-free growth.

You may question whether anyone would go to such lengths, but keep in mind that there may be millions of dollars at stake. Do we really want a tax system that rewards this type of tax planning?

Reducing OAS clawbacks

Consider a senior who needs RRIF income to maintain her lifestyle but her income is high enough that her OAS payments get clawed back either partially or completely. She may be able to alternate between years of high and low RRIF withdrawals to reduce the combined tax plus OAS clawbacks she pays.

Income smoothing

Seniors with highly variable income could smooth their income by not taking RRIF withdrawals in high income years and taking large RRIF withdrawals in low income years.

Conclusion

Eliminating mandatory minimum RRIF withdrawals would do little to help typical Canadians, but opens the door for more tax-planning opportunities for wealthier seniors. I see little societal value in making this change. I’m neither for nor against reducing taxes. But it should be done in a simple way, not by allowing complex strategies to work.

I doubt we’ll see an end to calls for this change from estate planners. In addition to benefiting the wealthy, it gives estate planners more tools to make themselves valuable to their clients.