Principal Issues: Confirmation of previous position - where a taxpayer is the annuitant of multiple separate RRIFs with the same RRIF carrier, the payment of the minimum amounts must be made from each separate RRIF.
Position: Position confirmed
Reasons: no legislative amendment that would otherwise change our interpretation - position remains unchanged
2007-023031 XXXXXXXXXX Kimberly Duval, CA (613) 599-6054 July 18, 2007
Dear XXXXXXXXXX:
Re: Registered Retirement Income Funds and the Payment of the Minimum Amount
This is in response to your letter to us of March 30, 2007 and our subsequent telephone conversation of July 11, 2007 (XXXXXXXXXX/Duval), we are enclosing a severed copy of a previous technical interpretation (document number 2002-0133905) issued by our directorate concerning the payment of a minimum amount from a Registered Retirement Income Fund ("RRIF") in a situation where an annuitant holds more than one RRIF with a particular carrier.
As stated in that document, the legislation requires a RRIF carrier to pay a particular minimum amount for each year from the RRIF to the annuitant in order to have a specimen plan registered. It is the Canada Revenue Agency's (the "CRA") view that the provisions of section 146.3 of the Income Tax Act (the "Act") and the rules for registration apply to each individual RRIF held by an annuitant with the RRIF carrier and as such, the RRIF carrier would not be allowed to pay the minimum payment for one RRIF from another RRIF held for the same annuitant.
Although your letter requests a response to several personal examples where, in your opinion, particular financial institutions have misinterpreted the current legislation dealing with RRIFs, our directorate is unable to provide any comments in this regard. However, as it is the role of the CRA is to administer and enforce the Act and Regulations as enacted by Parliament, we have forwarded your letter to both the Registered Plan Directorate and the Individual Returns and Payments Processing Directorate of the CRA for their consideration.
Also, please find enclosed document number 2001-0083777 which you may also find of interest.
We trust that the above comments and the enclosed documents will be of assistance to you.
Yours truly,
Mary Pat Baldwin, CA
for Director
Financial Sector and Exempt Entities Division
Income Tax Rulings Directorate
Policy and Planning Branch
c.c Deanna Dube, Individual Returns and Payment Processing Directorate
Lorraine Veilleux, Registered Plans Directorate