8 June 2026 External T.I. 2023-0991801E5 - Transfer of foreign plan to RRSP

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.

Principal Issues: 1) Does a Luxembourg contrat de prévoyance-vieillesse qualify as a foreign retirement arrangement? 2) Is a Luxembourg contrat de prévoyance-vieillesse eligible for transfer to a Canadian registered retirement savings plan (“RRSP”)?

Position: 1) No. 2) No.

Reasons: 1) Only the arrangements described in Regulation 6803 qualify. 2) It is not a pension plan.

XXXXXXXXXX 2023-099180
P. Kohnen

June 8, 2026

Dear XXXXXXXXXX:

Re: Transfer of foreign plan to RRSP

This is in reply to your correspondence dated May 4, 2023, wherein you posed two questions in relation to a Luxembourg contrat de prévoyance-vieillesse. We apologize for the delay in providing our response.

In your submission, you asked the following:

1. Does a Luxembourg contrat de prévoyance-vieillesse qualify as a foreign retirement arrangement?

2. Is a Luxembourg contrat de prévoyance-vieillesse eligible for transfer to a Canadian registered retirement savings plan (“RRSP”)?

Our comments

This technical interpretation provides general comments about the provisions of the Income Tax Act (the “Act”)(footnote 1) and related legislation (where referenced). It does not confirm the income tax treatment of a particular situation involving a specific taxpayer but is intended to assist you in making that determination. The income tax treatment of particular transactions proposed by a specific taxpayer will only be confirmed by this Directorate in the context of an advance income tax ruling request submitted in the manner set out in Information Circular IC70-6R12, Advance Income Tax Rulings and Technical Interpretations.

It is our understanding that a contrat de prévoyance-vieillesse, as described in Article 111bis of the Luxembourg Income Tax Law, is a tax-deductible private contract, also referred to as a 3rd pillar plan, that is funded from voluntary participant contributions. It is a vehicle which a taxpayer can contribute to in order to build up personal savings, for which a tax deduction is available for such contributions, up to an annual dollar limit. There are no employer contributions to such plans.

The following are our comments with respect to your questions.

Question 1

In general, subparagraph 60(j)(ii) of the Act permits a tax deferred transfer of an amount from a foreign retirement arrangement to an RRSP. A “foreign retirement arrangement” is defined in subsection 248(1) of the Act as a plan or arrangement prescribed by section 6803 of the Income Tax Regulations (the “Regulations”). Currently, only Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) that are subject to subsections 408(a), (b) or (h) of the United States’ Internal Revenue Code have been prescribed under section 6803 of the Regulations.

As a result, a contrat de prévoyance-vieillesse would not meet the definition of a foreign retirement arrangement.

Question 2

As noted in paragraph 26 of Interpretation Bulletin IT-528 - Transfers of Funds Between Registered Plans, subparagraph 60(j)(i) allows a deduction for the transfer of an amount from a foreign pension plan to an RRSP provided certain conditions are met. One of the requirements is that the foreign plan be a pension plan for the purposes of the Act.

The determination of whether a foreign plan is a pension plan is a question of fact. Generally, a foreign plan will be considered to be a pension plan under the Act where contributions have been made to the plan by or on behalf of an employer or former employer of an employee in consideration for services rendered by the employee and the contributions are used to provide an annuity or other periodic payment on or after the employee’s retirement.

Given our understanding, as noted above, that a contrat de prévoyance-vieillesse is funded by participant contributions, it would not be considered a pension plan for the purpose of the Act and therefore no deduction under subparagraph 60(j)(i) would be available.

We trust these comments will be of assistance.

Yours truly,

Irina Schnitzer
Section Manager
for Division Director
Financial Industries and Trusts Division
Income Tax Rulings Directorate
Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch

FOOTNOTES

Note to reader: Because of our system requirements, the footnotes contained in the original document are shown below instead:

1. Unless as otherwise stated, all legislative references in this document are to the Act.