How does your RRSP compare?

Per Statistics Canada's Survey of Financial Security (2023 reference period, Table 11-10-0016-01), among Canadian family units that HOLD an RRSP, RRIF or LIRA: under 35 — median $15,000, average $57,500; 35–44 — median $33,000, average $88,600; 45–54 — median $72,600, average $173,500; 55–64 — median $120,000, average $266,000; 65+ — median $102,200, average $248,700. Two things are usually left out. First, these figures cover holders only — 45.3% of under-35 family units have no RRSP at all, so the average across everyone in that band is closer to $31,500. Second, the average runs 2–4× the median because a small number of very large balances pull it up; the median is the benchmark to judge yourself against.

Canadian family units aged 35–44 that hold an RRSP had a median balance of $33,000 and an average of $88,600 in 2023 (Statistics Canada SFS). Across everyone in that age band, including the 35.4% with no RRSP, the average is about $57,200. The 35–44 median has now fallen in three consecutive survey cycles in nominal dollars — $38,700 in 2012, $36,700 in 2016, $34,700 in 2019, $33,000 in 2023 — which after inflation is a decline of roughly 18% since 2019 alone. A 40-year-old earning $80,000 generates about $14,400 of new RRSP room per year under the 18% rule.

The 45–54 band had a median RRSP/RRIF/LIRA balance of $72,600 and an average of $173,500 among holders in 2023 (Statistics Canada SFS), with 69.6% of family units holding one. This is the band that lost the most ground: the 2019 median was $80,900, so in real terms the typical balance is down about 22% in four years. Common planning rules of thumb suggest roughly 4–6× annual income by 50 — so a Canadian earning $100,000 would be targeting $400,000–$600,000 in combined registered savings. The published median sits far below that, which is why CPP, OAS, employer pensions and home equity matter to the answer.

Canadians aged 55–64 who hold an RRSP had a median balance of $120,000 and an average of $266,000 in 2023 (Statistics Canada SFS) — the highest median of any age band, and the only band whose median rose in real terms since 2016. Some 70% of family units in the band hold one. This is where catch-up room matters most: unused RRSP room carries forward indefinitely, so a 55-year-old with $50,000 of accumulated room can contribute that on top of the current-year 18%. Contributions in the last pre-retirement decade also carry the largest immediate tax saving, because income usually peaks in the 50s.

At 65+, the median RRSP/RRIF/LIRA balance among holders is $102,200 and the average is $248,700 (Statistics Canada SFS, 2023). Note it is LOWER than the 55–64 median of $120,000 — retirees are drawing these accounts down, and by 71 an RRSP must be converted to a RRIF or annuitised, with minimum mandatory withdrawals starting the following year. RRSP balances are not the full retirement picture: CPP pays an average of $877.01 a month to new beneficiaries at 65 (maximum $1,507.65 in 2026), OAS adds a further monthly payment, and many retirees also hold employer pensions and home equity.

In 2023, 64.6% of Canadian family units aged 35–44 held an RRSP, RRIF or LIRA, rising to 69.6% at 45–54 and 70.0% at 55–64, then easing to 64.7% at 65+ as accounts are drawn down. Among the under-35s it is 54.7%. That share rose in every single age band between 2019 and 2023 — the under-35 figure jumped from 43.3% to 54.7%. This is the reason the headline “average balance” needs care: because StatCan reports it for holders only, more Canadians opening small accounts pushes the reported median DOWN even when nobody is worse off.

Both, depending on which number you read. In nominal dollars the 2023 medians are mixed against 2019: up 4.2% under 35 and 3.9% at 55–64, down 4.9% at 35–44, 10.3% at 45–54 and 11.5% at 65+. But Canadian all-items CPI rose 15.5% over the same period (annual average 136.0 in 2019 to 157.1 in 2023, StatCan Table 18-10-0005-01), so in REAL terms the median fell in every single age band — by about 9.8% under 35, 17.7% at 35–44, 22.3% at 45–54, 10.1% at 55–64 and 23.4% at 65+. More Canadians hold an RRSP than in 2019, and the typical balance buys less.

The 2026 RRSP dollar limit is $33,810. Your personal limit is the lesser of 18% of your previous-year earned income or $33,810, plus any unused room carried forward from prior years, minus any pension adjustment (PA) from a registered pension plan. The CRA reports your exact limit on each Notice of Assessment and in CRA My Account. The 2025 tax-year contribution deadline is March 2, 2026 — the standard “60-day rule.”

The CRA allows a $2,000 lifetime cushion — contributions above your deduction limit by up to $2,000 do not attract a penalty, but they are not deductible. Above the $2,000 cushion, the over-contribution attracts a 1%-per-month tax for as long as the excess remains in the RRSP. Withdraw the excess and complete Form T3012A (Tax Deduction Waiver on the Refund of Your Unused RRSP, PRPP or SPP Contributions) to avoid double-taxation, or Form T746 if the excess has already been withdrawn. Relief from the penalty under taxpayer-fairness provisions is discretionary.

The short rule: max the RRSP first if your current marginal tax rate is materially higher than your expected rate in retirement (the deduction saves more tax now than the withdrawal will cost later). Max the TFSA first if the opposite is true. For a Canadian in the middle bracket (around $55,000–$112,000 federal taxable income, ~30% combined), the two are often near-equivalent on after-tax math; the tie-breaker is usually the TFSA, because withdrawals do not affect OAS clawback or GIS. See our RRSP vs TFSA comparison page for a worked after-tax example.