As you are aware, a minimum annual payment (MAP) is mandatory for all RRIF and LIF accounts. In accordance with Section 146.3(1) of the Income Tax Act, Investia is responsible for ensuring that all minimum payments are made before the last day of the year.

In recent years, we have noticed a significant increase in the number of RRIFs & LIFs which have been set up without an active AWD. As a result, prior to the end of each year, manual trades are processed by Head Office to pay the required minimums. In many of these cases, payments are being issued by cheque as banking information is not on file.

Setting up Mandatory Systematic Withdrawals for RRIFs and LIFs
To streamline our year-end processing and to ensure that the minimum annual payments are made each year, we are asking you review all your active RRIF & LIF accounts to ensure that an active AWD has been set up. To ensure that we meet all payment requirements, we would like this to be completed by October 30, 2024. 

As a reminder, to generate a list of clients holding RRIFs/LIFs without any AWD set up, please refer to the report below:



If a systematic withdrawal has not been set up as of November 1, 2024, Head Office will force the setup of the payment for December 20 of 2024, and each December 20 in the years following.  We will choose the fund with the highest market value when setting it up and the AWD will be left as is for the following years. You will need to send us a request to update the fund if it does not meet the client’s objectives. 

Note: For clients where the minimum has already been paid in 2024, however, since they do not have an active AWD, we ask that you please provide us with an AWD setup for 2024 and onwards. 

Updating Banking Information 
As discussed during our recent Best Business Practices Roadshow, and consistent with industry initiatives, we will be moving away from the issuance of cheque as a method of payment, so setting up the AWD provides an opportune time to set up banking information to ensure the most expeditious method of payment for the client. In the next few weeks, Investia will provide you with a list of clients without eligible banking information for these accounts. 

If banking information is also missing after the deadline, the mandatory minimum payment will be transferred to the cash account of an existing nominee non-registered account. If the client does not hold a nominee non-registered account, Head Office will open a new one to transfer the minimum.

Should you decide to do a redemption for the minimum payment after November 1 and after Head Office has intervened and set up the missing AWD, please advise Head Office at your earliest convenience to request that we postpone the AWD to the next year. Failure to do so could result in a payment made twice and any letter of indemnity to correct will be at your expense.

We thank you for your usual cooperation.

Should you have any questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact our Client Service Department, by email at investia@investia.ca, by phone at 1 888 684-5548 or via the chatbot feature on the Advisor Centre.