While 74% of Canadians understand TFSAs can contain cash or investments, 43% are “misinformed” and believe TFSAs are for savings rather than for growing money, according to an Ipsos survey conducted for RBC.
Savings accounts and cash were the most common holding for those with a TFSA, the survey found, with 42% using their accounts for this purpose. Mutual funds (28%) were the next most common holding, followed by stocks (19%), GICs/term deposits (15%), ETFs (7%) and bonds (6%).
The top reasons for having a TFSA among those surveyed were saving for retirement (38%), saving for an emergency (35%), sheltering savings from taxes (32%), and everyday savings (25%).
More of those surveyed had a TFSA (57%) than an RRSP (52%), and when asked which they would choose if they could only have one, 64% chose a TFSA.
Moreover, 65% of TFSA holders reported they have not withdrawn money from their account.
Ipsos conducted the national online survey of 2,000 Canadians 18 and older in November 2018. Online surveys can’t be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population. This survey was weighted to ensure a more accurate representation.