Does the position in 2002-0141355 - that an RRSP can be transferred to the RRSP of a surviving non-resident spouse, who can open an RRSP, even if he or she does not have a Social Insurance Number ("SIN") – apply to the transfer of an RRIF? CRA responded:
[W]here an amount out of the RRIF of a deceased annuitant is paid to the deceased's legal representative and the surviving spouse is the beneficiary of the estate, subsection 146.3(6.1) deems the amount received by the legal representative of the last annuitant under the fund to be received by the surviving spouse to the extent that, on the one hand, the amount would have been a refund of premiums if it had been paid, under the plan, to the beneficiary spouse of the annuitant's estate and that, on the other hand, it is jointly designated by the legal representative and the surviving spouse in the prescribed T1090 form … filed with the Minister as required by the definition of "designated benefit" in subsection 146.3(1).
An amount that qualifies as a designated benefit is a benefit to the spouse beneficiary who receives it, or is deemed to have received it, and the spouse must include it in computing income pursuant to subsection 146.3(5) and paragraph 56(1)(t). This amount may be deducted in computing the spouse's income under paragraph 60(l) to the extent that an amount equal to the sum of the amounts included as a refund of premiums is paid by or on behalf of the spouse in the year or within 60 days after the end of the year as premium under an RRSP, RRIF or for an eligible annuity of which the surviving spouse is the annuitant.
The requirement to hold a SIN in order to register a RRIF is explicitly included in the definition of the term "RRIF" provided in subsection 146.3(1).