Registered Education Savings Plans - Valuable Opportunities for the Students of Tomorrow

Abstract

The knowledge economy puts higher pressure on young Canadians to pursue higher education. The goals of the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) have focused on providing prospective students with affordable savings options and financial support for post secondary education. However, the RESP does not safeguard young Canadians from the increasing burden of student loans despite the generosity of provisions of this saving instrument. To better understand this phenomenon, this paper aims to examine characteristics of the RESP and understand its benefits. The analysis shows that the RESP has been continuously refined by the federal government in an effort to serve all Canadian families. However, there is growing concern around the communication and awareness of the RESP to the public which may diminish the potential of the RESP to lower student loan disbursements.savings for education, personal finance, student loan, education savings grant, post secondary education