One in five Canadians have contributed to their spouse’s RRSP, according to the annual National Survey on Retirement conducted by SOM for Desjardins Financial Security, last Fall.

In addition, the poll found that one in three respondents who personally own an RRSP invest or have invested in that of their spouse.

On a geographic basis, more respondents from Saskatchewan (27.2%), Ontario (24%) and Manitoba (23.8%) contribute to their spouse’s RRSP than their Quebec counterparts (14.7%).

The poll also found that owners or partners in a company are the most likely to contribute to a spousal RRSP (34.1%), followed by self-employed workers (28.3%), and persons employed by a company or institution (25%).

The survey also revealed that half of Canadians have an RRSP, a finding similar to what was reported in the previous two surveys conducted in 2002 and 2003.

The numbers of respondents who indicate they have RRSPs with a value that exceeds $100,000 and a value of between $50,000 and $100,000 are comparable (19.3% and 16.5% respectively). In contrast, one in five respondents (20%) have $5,000 or less in their RRSP.