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12:58 pm
December 26, 2020
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Norman1 said: "RAV4guy will know for sure next year if a T5 slip is issued or not and whether or not the annual interest paid is eventually added his TFSA contribution room."
Since my first interest payout from my HB TFSA to a non-registered savings account in 2020 the interest earned in my HB TFSA (all from annual pay GIC) has all been free of tax, with no T5. Keeping track of the total paid out and reinvesting in another TFSA next year has been done without problem.
I had hoped the interest from my existing HB TFSA annual pay GICs could go to my new HB TFSA savings account. Oaken will not do it. The reason given was that the interest paid from this annual pay GIC would be considered a new contribution to my TFSA. However, a GIC maturing and its interest can go to my new HB TFSA savings account. I do not understand the difference. I think Oaken is wrong and that Oaken is not being consistent.
I certainly dislike losing the tax free earnings potential of any money withdrawn from my HB TFSA for part of a year.
Loonie said: "Eventually, they are going to have to figure this out."
I hope so. But if I am the only one confounded by the way Oaken has arranged their business maybe I have to change. I feel like sticking with Oaken because their rates are generally near the best.
Loonie said: "I never did online banking at Oaken. Do they not have a transactions list where one can track this interest? Deposits to the non-reg'd savings account would likely show source, especially as it's internal."
Oaken provides monthly statements for HB hisa and Home Trust hisa with good details about the transactions.
A further wrinkle happened when I bought in my HB TFSA 2 year term compounding GIC @5.05%. I did this totally online and thought the process was okay. When I looked at the confirmation it said "to be renewed at maturity with the same terms and conditions". I never choose this option. So I either missed where Oaken gave me a choice in the application process or they never gave me a choice. I called and asked that on maturity principal and interest be paid to my HB TFSA hisa. I can check next week to see if that change has been made.
7:51 pm
November 8, 2021
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None of this makes any sense. TFSA is TFSA, redemption should be made possible from one instrument to another, within the same plan type. Oaken has lost something along the way.
RAV4guy said
A further wrinkle happened when I bought in my HB TFSA 2 year term compounding GIC @5.05%. I did this totally online and thought the process was okay. When I looked at the confirmation it said "to be renewed at maturity with the same terms and conditions". I never choose this option. So I either missed where Oaken gave me a choice in the application process or they never gave me a choice. I called and asked that on maturity principal and interest be paid to my HB TFSA hisa. I can check next week to see if that change has been made.
This has happened to me in the past as well. It is hard to fathom this can happen at a bank. Business analysts suppose to catch things like that, seriously.
4:25 am
November 18, 2017
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Oaken is dead wrong on this. Call them on it. Let CRA know about it; perhaps they will rather have you consider the payouts withdrawals and then allow redeposits, but that would still be unfair to the client.
Again, I expect it's the result of them not having TFSA savings accounts until recently. All my annual-payout GICs pay into TFSA savings happily.
RetirEd
11:47 am
October 21, 2013
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RAV4guy said
Loonie said: "Eventually, they are going to have to figure this out."
I hope so. But if I am the only one confounded by the way Oaken has arranged their business maybe I have to change. I feel like sticking with Oaken because their rates are generally near the best.
Loonie said: "I never did online banking at Oaken. Do they not have a transactions list where one can track this interest? Deposits to the non-reg'd savings account would likely show source, especially as it's internal."
Oaken provides monthly statements for HB hisa and Home Trust hisa with good details about the transactions.
A further wrinkle happened when I bought in my HB TFSA 2 year term compounding GIC @5.05%. I did this totally online and thought the process was okay. When I looked at the confirmation it said "to be renewed at maturity with the same terms and conditions". I never choose this option. So I either missed where Oaken gave me a choice in the application process or they never gave me a choice. I called and asked that on maturity principal and interest be paid to my HB TFSA hisa. I can check next week to see if that change has been made.
As RetirEd said, Oaken is simply wrong.
It could be a while before they smarten up on this issue, so I wouldn't hold my breath.
I think you will either have to take your complaint further or quit Oaken. I don't see any other choice. At least they have no transfer fees.
They do have generally-good rates, but they are not the only game in town. I no longer deal with them myself as I got fed up with the ignorant staff and the very long delay in introducing registered savings accounts. Over time, I have drifted towards full-service FIs for registered accounts.
Oaken should have offered registered savings accounts in the first place, in which case your problem would likely not have arisen. When they first opened, they were cutting corners and just trying to scoop up the GICs which they could apply to fixed term mortgage loans..
It sounds like you will be able to at least check your statement at the end of the month to trace whether the interest was initially deposited to the TFSA GIC.
10:31 am
April 6, 2013
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RAV4guy said
Since my first interest payout from my HB TFSA to a non-registered savings account in 2020 the interest earned in my HB TFSA (all from annual pay GIC) has all been free of tax, with no T5. Keeping track of the total paid out and reinvesting in another TFSA next year has been done without problem.
I had hoped the interest from my existing HB TFSA annual pay GICs could go to my new HB TFSA savings account. Oaken will not do it. The reason given was that the interest paid from this annual pay GIC would be considered a new contribution to my TFSA. However, a GIC maturing and its interest can go to my new HB TFSA savings account. I do not understand the difference. I think Oaken is wrong and that Oaken is not being consistent.
I certainly dislike losing the tax free earnings potential of any money withdrawn from my HB TFSA for part of a year.
…
That is good that no T5 slip was issued for any of the annual interest from TFSA GIC's that ended up in the non-registered savings account. That indicates that the annual interest was credited to the TFSA trust holding the GIC's and withdrawn from the TFSA trust to the non-registered savings account.
The difference is that Oaken has a workflow that transfers the interest and principal for maturing compounding TFSA GIC's to another TFSA. That workflow is needed to handle client requests for direct transfers to a TFSA at another financial institution. It looks like that workflow is used to do a direct transfer of the interest and principal of maturing compounding TFSA GIC's to their TFSA savings account.
However, Oaken doesn't seem to have a workflow to transfer the annual interest from non-compounding TFSA GIC's to another TFSA.
12:08 pm
October 21, 2013
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1:45 pm
December 26, 2020
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Thanks for the recent comments. I have these comments.
RetirEd said: "All my annual-payout GICs pay into TFSA savings happily."
RetirEd, are you with Oaken or somebody else?
Norman1's assessment of what Oaken is doing agrees with my experience with Oaken and my understanding of what the CSR said.
Loonie said: "It makes no sense to enable transfer to non-reg'd savings but not to registered savings."
I agree. I told the CSR that when I found out how it was going to work. I wanted to speak to his supervisor but was deflected from that request.
RAV4guy said in Post 21: "A further wrinkle ..."
I did a test and went through the steps of buying a HB TFSA GIC today. Right on the first page is a question regarding maturity instructions that must be answered and I now remember choosing on maturity to pay to the TFSA Savings Account. However, the confirmation states "Instruction: Auto-Renew". I called about this and the website now says at maturity "Principal and interest pay to the TFSA Savings Account".
In conclusion, I am still happy enough with Oaken. Oaken has some faults but the generally good rates offered and the improvements made over time to what it offers keep me there.
5:41 am
November 18, 2017
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RAV4guy: I use both Oaken and Peoples'. Their terms and rates are generally comparable, but I have payout terms only with Peoples' (Bank and Trust). Obviously, as Oaken has only this year created TFSA savings accounts, I haven't used them for TFSA annual payouts; The other other outfits all manage to transfer interest into TFSA savings accounts smoothly.
Peoples' is much more a full-service financial institution, and my experiences with them are more positive. Their reps stick around longer and are more knowledgeable, they are understanding and flexible with one's needs and their Vancouver (head) office is larger and well-staffed. Oaken's Vancouver footprint is barely better than a package office. Neither offers parking, but Peoples' is more convenient and "looks like a solid financial institution."
Peoples' statements clearly give advance warning of auto-renwal status, and they make it clear you have ten days to fix anything that goes to the wrong destination. And they always do what they say they will, in renewals and other matters.
Some of the following is experience from before Oaken's purchase a couple of years back, so keep your grains of salt handy:
I've NEVER dealt with the same person at Oaken twice, and they charge for monthly mailed statements, unlike Peoples (one does get a free annual one). Neither charges for TFSA transfer-out or reimburses for transfer-ins, which is reasonable. It's tough to get things in writing from Oaken, and I often had to sit in their office waiting for the rep to arrive late for an appointment. Even there, they really need a push to print anything out, so I just leave my terms sitting and rarely visit. They WILL let me query things by phone (reluctantly) between annual mailed statements. Both firms have twin entities to double their CDIC coverage.
Nonetheless, I have recommended Oaken to friends (with caveats) and they've been fairly happy with the results. If I wasn't all maxed out at Peoples' I wouldn't likely use Oaken in the future.
RetirEd
7:16 am
December 26, 2020
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RetirEd, thanks for confirming that Peoples' correctly implemented a TFSA Savings Account several years ago.
I have non-registered GICs with Peoples. I live in Ontario and have had no problems doing that business online with them.
I am happy Oaken implemented a TFSA hisa. But their failing to provide all the functionality I expected prompted me to start this thread. I will carry on with both my Oaken TFSA and my CIBCIE TFSA.
Please write your comments in the forum.