"alsandor" > wrote in message
oups.com...
Gabby a écrit :

> Can you decide how much you put in to your 401K or is it a set percentage
> of
> your income? Like Michel, I'm in Canada. The company DH works for
> allows
> employees to chose from 3 levels of contributions. IIRC, 1, 2 or 3% of
> employees' wages can be invested in their pension plan, with the company
> matching the amounts. The same options (return of contributions or
> roll-over into an RRSP) are available if employee leaves/is laid off
> before
> reaching pension eligibility.

In Canada, for contributions to the federal employees' superannuation
plan (your actual retirement fund if you work within the federal
government) the contribution is fixed. An RRSP is over and above the
superannuation plan and the amount is dependent upon a calculation on
your tax return for the previous year. We also have the CPP (Canada
Pension Plan) which is a default monthly retirement payment to anyone
who reaches age 65. This amount can be subject to refund in part or in
whole in quarterly tax payments if your income from other sources is
too high, as my mother's was.

The amount eligible for RRSPs has increased considerably in the last
year, as I was able to put in three times more than last period. RRSPs
can also be used to finance pension buybacks with no penalty. If you
do not contribute the full amount in any given year, you can carry the
balance over indefinitely.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individ...sp/menu-e.html

Personally, this stuff gives me a headache. My wife deals with all
matters of finance.