EQ TFSA Savings acc 2.3% GIC 3 mo 2.5 % Same for RSP | Page 2 | EQ Bank | Discussion forum

I think you should phone EQ and ask about the transfer. In my experience, registered funds can only be transferred with paper forms. It's possible fax might be accepted. It's the government that sets a lot of the rules regarding RSPs, and financial institutions must comply. It's not like transferring money in a regular savings account. Actually, in a way, you are lucky you got blocked because otherwise you might have accidentally de-registered your funds.
You might need to first set up an RSP, even though no money in it, at EQ. The incoming funds need somewhere to go.

That said, there should be clear instructions on the site, with downloadable forms.

I don't know what PC Financial was up to but, apart from whatever the requirements might be, I think it's prudent to use an actual form.
This allows you to specify whether it is, for example, a spousal RSP, which could be important down the line. Also, you should never open an RSP without designating a beneficiary and/or successor beneficiary and signing your name to that. Some account-opening forms allow you to make this designation on the form; others require a second form. This too will be important later.
PC may not care about these things as they don't really impact the bank, but they are for your own protection.
I have found that in roughly 50% of cases, the financial institutions don't bother to mention the beneficiary issue. And it can sometimes be a nuisance to get verification form them that they have received it.

That's good information on how to open the account.

I have never seen one where you have to make a point of asking them to register it, as far as I recall. That part seems badly designed, as does the absence of beneficiary on the sign-up process.

The point about asking you to ask them to register it must be to distinguish an RSP from an RRSP. Everyone I know thinks of them as one and the same, so i think they ought to have simply called it an RRSP to avoid an unintended default situation.

TFSA process should be basically the same except that there is no equivalent to the spousal RRSP.

I probably will use EQ TFSA HISA come Jan 1st (to have the flexibility to move it when transfer fee out is introduced)
I guessed I need to opened the account 2 weeks before Jan 1st and get it ready to receive funds from the EQ savings.
Is 2 weeks enough time including the beneficiary fax completion?
Thanks

Winnie said

Exactly, my observations are the same.
You probably meant "to get verification from them".

EQ accepts beneficiaries form via fax.
No other bank or CU, that I know, accepts beneficiaries form via fax.
I will not be opening RRSP and/or TFSA with EQ.  

Yes, that was my mis-type. Unfortunately it's an error I make regularly!

Fax is good for other legal documents so that would not be an issue for me.

I've had a bank lose docs before, so I would insist on documented receipt of the beneficiary form before I sent money. (TD lost my POA which had been in use.)
Since you are faxing, you can keep the original for your records in case it's ever needed.

I think I'll wait til January and see what the competition is and whether EQ holds its rate. I don't have anything coming due right now, so it's only 6K anyway. It will go in savings until GIC comes due later in the year. I'm only interested in HISA with no transfer fee at this point so options will be limited. I dislike having numerous TFSA GICs for smallish amounts.

pianoman8849 said

miro said
Introducing the EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account.
2.30% interest*, tax-free
Zero fees
No minimum balance
No hassles, sign up in minutes

I just pulled out of the Motus Bank TFSA HISA. They're only paying 1.1%.
I transferred it to my bricks and mortar savings account until January 2 at which time I'll transfer into Eq Bank TFSA HISA. I've already opened the account.

Should be no transfer fees doing it this way as it's not going directly from one TFSA to another.

Sure, the 2.3% offer is good, even if only for a few months. If it then goes down to 1.5 or whatever, I'm still better off than if I had left it at Motus. Plus I like the Eq system much better than Motus. I'm closing my account with them in January as well.

  

I know a friend that keeps transferring funds around from one FI to another FI frequently for special rates. Personally I do not see the point. I had 4 GIC's mature this year. The one in January was paying 3.00%. The one in April was paying 3.25%. The two in October were paying 2.88%. I put the funds in my HISA soon after the GIC's matured. In January I am adding some additional funds to buy a 5 year TFSA GIC. The current rate is 1.85%. Better to merge and have a larger GIC. Before interest rates increase they have to stop going down. Everyone has different priorities.

Rick said

topgun said

I know a friend that keeps transferring funds around from one FI to another FI frequently for special rates. Personally I do not see the point.  

I guess this is the point:
35000 @ 1.5% = $525
35000 @ 2.5% = $875
Tax Free Difference = $350
Worx for me anyway.  

Bingo Isn't this one of the main points of this site !

Or, you could invest in stocks, looking at the combination of both income from them and their potential capital loss (especially if you are older and aren't comfortable with a long timeline). Lets say that's a net loss, which it has been for a majority of this year, until recently.

dougjp said

Bingo Isn't this one of the main points of this site !

Or, you could invest in stocks, looking at the combination of both income from them and their potential capital loss (especially if you are older and aren't comfortable with a long timeline). Lets say that's a net loss, which it has been for a majority of this year, until recently.   

I count dividend income. Years ago I invested in a couple Canadian stocks. I reinvested the dividends. My cost went to $70,000 including reinvested dividends by 2008. I stopped reinvesting dividends. I receive dividend income. I use it for paying part of my expenses. The dividends increased over the years. The current yield is 5.2%. The dividend income kept coming in 2020 even though the stock price were extremely volatile. This seems to be a lot better than collecting 2-3% in interest. I would have been required to save a lot more to get the same after tax return.

davidgeorge said
I have a regular EQ savings account and a linked external account. I paln to open a TFSA 3 month 2.5% GIC account on January 1, 2021 and fund the GIC account from the linked external account. On April 1, I open a 2.3% TFSA savings account and move the fund from expired GIC account to the 2.3% TFSA savings account. Is my plan feasible?  

First off, you are assuming the 2.3% Will still be available in April. I would open the TFSA savings in January and fund the savings with your external account. Then open the GIC with the TFSA balance, that way the GIC is automatically matured into the TFSA from which it was funded, otherwise the default is for matured GIC to go back to your external account, and I’m assuming that is non-registered and will be a TFSA withdrawal. If you want to fund the GIC directly from your external account, you will need to contact EQ to ensure the funds mature to your TFSA and not the external account. Remember to have enough TFSA contribution room.

Edit: you can open the TFSA savings right now and leave it as zero.

Vatox said

First off, you are assuming the 2.3% Will still be available in April. I would open the TFSA savings in January and fund the savings with your external account. Then open the GIC with the TFSA balance, that way the GIC is automatically matured into the TFSA from which it was funded, otherwise the default is for matured GIC to go back to your external account, and I’m assuming that is non-registered and will be a TFSA withdrawal. If you want to fund the GIC directly from your external account, you will need to contact EQ to ensure the funds mature to your TFSA and not the external account. Remember to have enough TFSA contribution room.

Edit: you can open the TFSA savings right now and leave it as zero.  

Thanks, (1) I am going to open the TFSA savings account now and leave it as zero since I don't have any room for this year. (2) I really doubt that if I fund the GIC directly from my external account, the matured GIC will automatically go back to my external account, which indeed is a non-registered account. Anyway, I will ckeck with EQ.