An individual RESP has one named beneficiary and can be opened by anyone — parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or family friends. It is the most flexible RESP type for non-parent subscribers and offers clean, simple tracking for families with one child.
Any Canadian resident can open an individual RESP for any child as long as the child has a SIN. Unlike family plans, there is no relationship requirement. This makes individual plans the go-to option for grandparents, godparents, aunts, uncles, and family friends who want to give the gift of education savings.
The $50,000 lifetime contribution limit applies per beneficiary across all their plans combined. The CESG (up to $7,200 lifetime) and CLB are tracked by the child's SIN — total grants are shared across all plans for that beneficiary. Communicate with all subscribers to prevent exceeding the limits.
You can change the beneficiary if the original beneficiary doesn't pursue education. The new beneficiary must be under 21 and — if CESG grants are in the plan — must be a sibling of the original beneficiary. Non-sibling replacements trigger CESG repayment. Plan beneficiary changes carefully with your RESP provider.
A child can have multiple individual RESPs from different subscribers simultaneously. Parent's plan, grandparent's plan, and an aunt's plan can all run in parallel. Every plan earns CESG contributions up to the shared lifetime limit. Coordination is essential to avoid over-contributions.
Individual RESPs can be transferred to a different financial institution without triggering tax or grant repayment, provided the beneficiary remains the same. Transfer to a discount broker or robo-advisor if you want lower fees or better investment options as the balance grows.
A self-directed individual RESP at a discount broker (Questrade, Wealthsimple) gives full investment control: ETFs, stocks, GICs, bonds. Commission-free ETF purchases at Questrade are ideal for low-cost index investing. This approach typically outperforms group or bank-managed plans significantly over 18 years due to lower fees.
KOHO offers free banking with no monthly fees. Use code 45ET55JSYA for a bonus when you sign up.
Open KOHO Free — No Fees — Code 45ET55JSYA