Beneficiary of the RRIF property

Instead of choosing to have the RRIF payments continue to his or her surviving spouse or common-law partner after death, the RRIF annuitant can name an individual in the RRIF contract as the beneficiary of any part of the RRIF property.

Generally, the deceased annuitant is considered to have received, just before death, an amount equal to the fair market value (FMV) of all property of the RRIF at the time of death. This amount has to be included in the deceased annuitant's income. However, this amount may be reduced if it is paid to a qualified beneficiary as a designated benefit. It can also be reduced if it is paid to the deceased annuitant's estate, and the deceased annuitant's legal representative and a qualified beneficiary elect to treat some or all of it as being paid to the qualified beneficiary. Only the spouse or common-law partner or a financially dependent child or grandchild can be a qualified beneficiary.

Date modified:

2016-10-24