The mistakes that cost registered-account holders money, OAS clawback traps, transfers, death and departure from Canada, complaints and where to check the rules.
Most of the money lost in registered accounts is lost through avoidable handling mistakes, not bad markets: re-contributing a TFSA withdrawal in the same year, cashing out an RRSP to move it to another bank, triggering the OAS recovery tax with a large RRIF withdrawal, forgetting a beneficiary or successor holder, or contributing to a TFSA after leaving Canada.
The mistakes and official sources hub links to each guide here and lists where to check the rules: the Canada Revenue Agency, Revenu Québec, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Justice Laws website for the Income Tax Act. If a large balance, an estate or a move abroad is involved, a fee-only planner, a tax professional or a notary (in Quebec) is worth the cost.
Pitfalls, Protection and Official Sources
How the 15% OAS recovery tax interacts with RRIF minimums and RRSP withdrawals, why TFSA withdrawals do not count, a worked 2026 example and drawdown tactics to consider.
Pitfalls, Protection and Official Sources
How to complain about a bank, dealer or adviser over an RRSP, TFSA or FHSA problem in Canada: internal process, OBSI and other external bodies, CIRO, FCAC, the AMF in Quebec, and the records to keep.
Pitfalls, Protection and Official Sources
The twelve most common registered-account handling mistakes in Canada, what each one costs, how to fix it, and the official bodies to check: CRA, Revenu Québec, FCAC, CIRO, CIPF and CDIC.
Pitfalls, Protection and Official Sources
What happens to an RRSP, RRIF, TFSA or FHSA when the holder dies, how beneficiary and successor holder designations work, the spousal rollover, and why Quebec designations go in a will.
Pitfalls, Protection and Official Sources
What happens to your RRSP, RRIF, TFSA and FHSA when you leave Canada: the 1% a month tax on TFSA contributions, 25% withholding on RRSP withdrawals, foreign tax and returning later.
Pitfalls, Protection and Official Sources
Five common ways Canadians over-contribute to a TFSA after a withdrawal, worked month-by-month examples of the 1% tax, how to spot the problem early and what to do next.
Pitfalls, Protection and Official Sources
Step-by-step direct transfers of RRSPs (Form T2033), TFSAs and FHSAs between Canadian institutions, in cash or in kind, typical delays, transfer-out fees and the mistakes to avoid.
