Best RRIF Accounts in Canada

Best RRIF Account in Canada: Ranking at a Glance

These are the 10 online brokers we score that offer RRIFs, in score order. Scores are out of 5 and shown to one decimal; Questrade and Desjardins share 4.3, and Interactive Brokers, Wealthsimple and National Bank share 4.2, so each group is ordered by unrounded score. The “RRIF account fee” column shows the fee as published for a RRIF holder with no other assets at the firm.

Who is missing. moomoo lists cash, margin, TFSA, RRSP and spousal RRSP accounts but no RRIF, Webull does not list a RRIF, and the TD Direct Investing account list we checked does not include one.

The RRIF minimum calculator below works out your required withdrawal for any age and balance, including the option of using a younger spouse’s age, and projects the minimums for the years ahead.

Master Comparison Table: RRIF Brokers Side by Side

Every cost and feature that touches a self-directed RRIF, for all 10 brokers. You can search and sort the table. Figures come from each broker’s published pricing and account pages on October 22, 2026; “not published” means the broker did not state the item on the pages we checked.

The 10 Brokers That Offer RRIFs, Ranked

Each card explains the score, what a RRIF costs at that broker, how paying yourself and holding cash work there, and what it states about US dollars and spousal plans. Scores come from our broker rating methodology; no broker pays for its position.

Managed RRIF Options From Robo-Advisors

If you would rather not pick and sell investments to fund each withdrawal, three of the four robo-advisors we rank offer RRIFs. They are scored on our robo-advisor rubric (fees 45%, account types 15%, portfolios 15%, minimum 10%, advice 15%). RBC InvestEase does not offer RRIFs.

How the $250,000 costs add up. Wealthsimple at the Premium rate: $250,000 x 0.4% = $1,000 plus up to $375 in fund costs. Questwealth: $250,000 x 0.20% = $500 plus up to $300. CI Direct: $150,000 x 0.60% = $900 plus $100,000 x 0.40% = $400, for $1,300, plus up to $575. A self-directed RRIF at a $0-trade broker with no account fee costs $0 in broker fees at the same balance, plus the costs of the funds you choose.

Not ranked. Justwealth offers RRIFs and LIFs, but its fee tiers are published only as an image. BMO SmartFolio offers RRIFs, but its fee breakpoints and fund costs are not published. Our best robo-advisors in Canada page compares every managed service.

1. How We Ranked the Best RRIF Accounts

Overall broker score, RRIF brokers only. The list includes every broker we score that offers a RRIF, ordered by our overall broker score. Each factor is scored from 0 to 5 and weighted: costs 35%, account types 15%, US investing 15%, cash and margin 10%, platform 15%, safety 10%. The rubric is published in full in how we rate online brokers and robo-advisors, our editorial standards explain how figures are checked, and our advertiser disclosure explains how WealthScale is paid.

A worked total. Questrade: costs 5.0 x 0.35 = 1.75; account types 5.0 x 0.15 = 0.75; US investing 5.0 x 0.15 = 0.75; cash and margin 0.5 x 0.10 = 0.05; platform 4.5 x 0.15 = 0.675; safety 3.5 x 0.10 = 0.35. The total is 4.325, shown as 4.3. The cost sub-score uses yearly commissions and account fees for two trading profiles, and the US sub-score uses US dollars in registered accounts and US commissions.

Why cash and margin count for a RRIF. The cash and margin sub-score also rewards interest on uninvested cash, which matters to anyone holding money aside for withdrawals. Interactive Brokers earns 5.0 here; the other nine RRIF brokers score between 0.5 and 2.0.

What sits outside the score. RRIF-specific details, such as small-balance fees, a US-dollar option inside the RRIF and spousal RRIF availability, are not part of the overall score. We show them in the tables and cards so you can weigh them for your own situation. The same score orders our best RRSP accounts list, and every ranking sits on our compare online brokers hub.

2. RRIF Minimum Withdrawals: Factors and Worked Amounts

The formula. Each year’s minimum is the RRIF’s fair market value on January 1 multiplied by a prescribed factor for your age at the start of the year (or your spouse’s or partner’s age, if you elected it when you set up the RRIF). Up to age 70, the factor is 1 divided by (90 minus your age). From 71, CRA’s chart sets the factor. No minimum is due in the year you open the RRIF; the first one is due the following year.

How the factor climbs. At 65, 1 / (90 – 65) = 1 / 25 = 4.00%. At 70, 1 / 20 = 5.00%. From 71 the chart takes over at 5.28%, then rises each year to 11.92% at 90 and 20.00% from 95. The full year-by-year table is on our RRIF minimum withdrawal table page, and the RRIF calculator works out any balance.

A five-year projection. This projection is hypothetical. It starts with $300,000 at age 72, takes only the minimum at the start of each year and assumes the rest grows 4% a year. The minimum rises in dollars for a while even though the balance falls, because the factor rises faster than the balance shrinks.

How each row is worked. Year end = (January 1 value minus the minimum) x 1.04. At 72: ($300,000.00 – $16,200.00) x 1.04 = $295,152.00. Actual returns will differ, and the minimum is a floor, not a target: you can always take more.

3. Scheduling RRIF Withdrawals

One payment or many. The minimum is a yearly total. You can take it in a single payment or spread it across the year, and you can take more than the minimum at any time. Payment frequencies are set by each provider, so please ask your broker which schedules it offers before you set one up.

Cash has to be there on the day. At a self-directed broker, a scheduled payment can only be made from cash. If the RRIF is fully invested, you need to sell something before each payment date. Some retirees hold the next few payments in cash or short-term GICs inside the RRIF, and refill that reserve from dividends or a sale once or twice a year. The GIC vs high-interest savings comparison explains the trade-offs for that reserve.

What the cash earns. Interest on uninvested cash varies widely among RRIF brokers. The master comparison table above lists each rate: Interactive Brokers pays 1.675% on Canadian cash above CAD 13,000, Desjardins pays its prime rate minus 5.50% on balances under $50,000, five brokers pay 0% or effectively 0% on ordinary balances, and Wealthsimple, BMO and RBC do not publish a rate for trading accounts.

Withdrawal fees. BMO lists $0 for RRSP and RRIF deregistration. Interactive Brokers lists two free withdrawals a month, then CAD 2.00 by EFT or CAD 12.00 by wire. The other brokers did not publish RRIF withdrawal fees on the pages we checked, so please ask before you choose a monthly schedule.

Timing within the year. Taking the minimum late in the year leaves the money invested longer; taking it early removes the risk of having to sell after a fall in December. Neither is right for everyone. What matters is that the full minimum is paid out within the calendar year.

4. Withholding Tax on RRIF Withdrawals

No withholding on the minimum. CRA’s payer guide tells RRIF payers not to withhold income tax from the minimum amount. Only the part of a year’s withdrawals above the minimum is withheld, at the same rates as an RRSP lump sum, based on the size of that excess.

Worked amounts. Outside Quebec, an excess of $3,000 has $300 withheld ($3,000 x 10%), an excess of $7,800 has $1,560 withheld ($7,800 x 20%) and an excess of $20,000 has $6,000 withheld ($20,000 x 30%). A Quebec resident taking a $7,800 excess has $780 withheld federally ($7,800 x 10%) and $1,092 provincially ($7,800 x 14%), $1,872 in all.

Withholding is not your final tax. Every RRIF payment, minimum or not, is taxable income in the year you receive it, and your payer reports it on a T4RIF slip. The withholding is a prepayment. If your marginal rate is higher than what was withheld, you will owe the difference when you file; if it is lower, you get a refund. Some retirees ask their payer whether it can withhold more, so they do not face a bill in April. The RRSP tax calculator shows marginal rates by province.

5. RRIF Fees by Balance: Costs for Four Retirees

What we assumed. Each retiree trades Canadian stocks or ETFs online at the standard commission. Interactive Brokers is priced on 40-share orders at its CAD 1.00 minimum; larger orders cost more under its per-share pricing. Account fees are as published for a client with no other assets at the firm and no waiver. Robo-advisor costs include the highest published fund cost. These examples are hypothetical.

The small RRIF. At $18,000, three brokers charge $100: Desjardins (under $25,000), National Bank (under $20,000) and Scotia iTRADE (under $25,000 with fewer than 12 trades), which adds 2 x $9.99 = $19.98 for $119.98 in all. CIBC’s fee does not apply because the balance is above $10,000. That $100 is 0.56% of an $18,000 RRIF ($100 / $18,000), more than Questwealth’s whole management fee.

The large RRIF. At $500,000, the broker fees on this page range from $0.00 to $119.88, while the managed options cost from $1,600.00 to $3,450.00 a year. Wealthsimple’s Generation fee is 0.4% at $500,000; CI Direct’s blended fee is $150,000 x 0.60% + $350,000 x 0.40% = $900 + $1,400 = $2,300, plus up to $1,150 in fund costs.

What is left out. Fund costs inside ETFs you buy at a broker, any fee for holding US dollars and transfer fees are not included. Section 7 covers US dollars in a RRIF.

6. Spousal RRIFs and the Younger-Spouse Election

Electing a younger spouse’s age. When you set up a RRIF, you can choose to base the minimum on your spouse’s or common-law partner’s age. If your spouse is younger, the factor is lower, so the required withdrawal is smaller and more money can stay invested. The election is made at setup, so please decide before you sign the RRIF application.

Spousal RRIFs. A spousal RRIF usually comes from a spousal RRSP. Among the providers on this page, National Bank Direct Brokerage lists a spousal RRIF and CI Direct Investing lists a spousal RIF. Wealthsimple says a spousal RRIF is currently unavailable. The other brokers did not state whether they offer one, so please ask before you plan a conversion around them.

The attribution rule to check. For spousal RRSPs, a withdrawal is taxed in the contributor’s hands if contributions were made in the year of withdrawal or either of the two years before (Form T2205). Before taking more than the minimum from a spousal RRIF, please confirm how this rule applies to your plan.

Splitting income instead. Couples without a spousal plan can still share RRIF income through pension income splitting once the RRIF holder is 65, covered in Section 8.

7. Self-Directed RRIF Accounts and US Holdings

US dividends in a RRIF are exempt from US withholding. Article XXI(2) of the Canada-US tax treaty exempts dividends and interest paid to retirement arrangements. RRSPs, RRIFs, LIRAs and LIFs qualify, so US-listed securities held directly in a self-directed RRIF are exempt from US withholding once your broker has the account documented. That is a real advantage over a TFSA or non-registered account, where 15% is withheld.

Which RRIFs can hold US dollars. If your RRIF can hold US dollars, US-listed holdings, their dividends and sale proceeds can stay in US dollars inside the account. Questrade allows it at no extra cost; Desjardins, National Bank and Scotia iTRADE offer US-dollar RRIFs with no US-dollar fee stated; Qtrade charges US$15 a quarter unless you have Investor Plus. Wealthsimple does not allow US dollars in a RRIF.

Reading the table. Questrade, Desjardins and National Bank combine a US-dollar RRIF with no stated fee and $0 online US trades. Scotia iTRADE offers a US-dollar RRIF but charges $9.99 a trade, and Qtrade’s costs US$60 a year without Investor Plus. Interactive Brokers, BMO and CIBC do not publish whether a RRIF can hold US dollars.

Where to go deeper. Our best RRSP accounts for US stocks ranking applies the same treaty logic to RRSPs, and the best brokers for dividend investing ranking compares DRIPs for the dividend payers many retirees hold. Our CIPF vs CDIC guide explains how each layer of protection applies to a RRIF.

8. Pension Credits, Income Splitting and the OAS Recovery Tax

Pension income amount. RRIF payments are eligible pension income from age 65 (or earlier if received because of a spouse’s or partner’s death). They can support the federal pension income amount, which is the lesser of $2,000 and your eligible pension income.

Pension income splitting. Up to 50% of eligible pension income can be allocated to a spouse or common-law partner. RRIF and LIF payments qualify when the transferring spouse is 65 or older at year end. Both spouses must be Canadian residents on December 31, not living apart, and file a joint Form T1032.

The OAS recovery tax. If your 2026 net income is above $95,323, you repay 15% of the amount over that threshold from your Old Age Security, with the repayment taken from July 2027 to June 2028. Service Canada estimates OAS is fully recovered at $155,320 for ages 65 to 74 and $161,320 at 75 or older. A large RRIF withdrawal can push income over the threshold: net income of $100,000 is $4,677 over, so $701.55 is repaid ($4,677 x 15%).

The OAS recovery calculator below estimates how much OAS you would repay at a given net income, so you can test a RRIF withdrawal before you take it.

Putting the three together. A couple aged 65 or older can use splitting to move RRIF income from the higher-income spouse to the lower-income one, which may help keep both below the OAS threshold. Payment dates for OAS and CPP are on our CPP and OAS payment dates page.

9. Safety: CIPF and CDIC for RRIFs

CIPF. At a dealer that is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, your RRSPs, RRIFs and LIFs are covered together up to $1,000,000 if the firm fails and cash or securities go missing. That limit is separate from the $1,000,000 for general accounts (cash, margin, TFSA, FHSA) and the $1,000,000 for RESPs. CIPF does not cover market losses or crypto assets. All ten brokers on this page are, or belong to, firms on CIPF’s member list.

CDIC. Deposits and GICs held in a RRIF at a CDIC member are insured in their own RRIF category, up to $100,000 per member institution. Stocks, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds are not covered by CDIC.

Large RRIFs. If your retirement accounts at one dealer exceed $1,000,000, the excess is above CIPF’s retirement limit at that firm. Some retirees spread retirement savings across two dealers for that reason. GICs from several CDIC members held inside a RRIF can each be insured up to $100,000 in the RRIF category at their own institution. Our guide to whether Wealthsimple is safe explains how these layers work at one firm.

10. How to Choose Among RRIF Providers in Canada

Start with what the RRIF has to do. A RRIF pays you an income for the rest of your life, so the right broker is the one that makes withdrawals cheap and simple at your balance, not the one with the lowest headline commission.

1. Size the RRIF. Under $25,000, rule out brokers whose $100 fee would apply, or check a waiver. Above it, the fees on this page mostly disappear.
2. Decide on managed or self-directed. At $250,000, the three ranked robo-advisors cost from 0.32% to 0.75% a year including fund costs; a self-directed RRIF at a $0-trade broker costs $0 in broker fees.
3. Check US-dollar support. If you hold US-listed investments, choose a broker that lets a RRIF hold US dollars. Wealthsimple does not.
4. Check spousal needs. If you will convert a spousal RRSP, confirm the broker offers a spousal RRIF; National Bank lists one and Wealthsimple does not.
5. Look at cash and payments. Compare interest on cash and any withdrawal fees, and ask which payment schedules are available.
6. Confirm the minimum setup. Decide whether to elect a younger spouse’s age before you sign; it cannot be added later.
7. Plan the transfer. Note the transfer-out fee at your current firm and any rebate at the new one.

Keeping everything together. If you also hold a LIRA or LIF, a broker that offers both RRIFs and locked-in accounts keeps statements and withdrawals in one place. Our best LIRA accounts ranking lists them.

11. Converting an RRSP or Moving a RRIF

The age 71 deadline. December 31 of the year you turn 71 is the last day you can contribute to your own RRSP. By then, you choose to withdraw the money (with tax withheld), transfer it to a RRIF or buy an annuity. Amounts transferred directly to a RRIF have no tax withheld; they are taxed later as payments come out. You can also open a RRIF earlier: the prescribed factors start well before 71.

Converting at the same broker. Converting at the firm that already holds your RRSP is usually the simplest route; ask whether your investments can move across as they are. Your first minimum is due the year after the RRIF is set up, which gives one year of growth before payments must start. Our RRSP guide covers the options at 71 in more detail.

Moving a RRIF to another broker. The new broker requests the transfer with its form, so the money stays registered. Please ask both firms which one will pay any minimum still owed for the year of the move.

Offers with dates. Qtrade’s Fall Offer 2026 accepts new accounts until January 5, 2027. Please read whether an offer covers RRIFs and how it treats withdrawals during any hold period. Our guide on how to transfer an investment account covers the forms.

What You Need and What You Get

10 Strategies to Keep More of Your RRIF

Illustrative Example: A $300,000 RRIF at Age 72

Meet the Experts Behind WealthScale

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Sharad is a CPA Ontario member (No. 61040184) and a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Washington and Montana, with more than 15 years in accounting and tax, a Diploma in Banking and Finance and a Certificate in Small Business Finance. He checks WealthScale content against primary sources. WealthScale is independent of his firm, Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation, and provides general information only, not personal financial, investment, tax or legal advice.

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Neha Gupta is a CFA charterholder based in Winnipeg who has worked in financial markets since December 2005. She has published more than 2,600 investment articles and is Head of Operations and Finance at Whiteland Real Estate. She reviews WealthScale’s investing pages for accuracy.

• CFA charter, CFA Institute (awarded 2023)
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