The value of RRSP contributions rose in 2010, although the number of contributors slipped a little, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.
StatsCan reported Friday that just under 6 million taxfilers contributed to RRSPs in 2010, which represents a slight decline of 0.2% from 2009. However, their total contributions increased 2.6% to $33.9 billion.
Almost 93% of taxfilers were eligible to contribute to an RRSP for the 2010 tax year, yet of this group of eligible taxfilers, only 26% actually made contributions, unchanged from 2009, StatsCan says.
The $33.9 billion in total contributions in 2010 represented about 5.1% of the total room available, down from 5.4% in 2009.
Nationally, the median contribution was $2,790, a 4.1% increase from 2009. The median was highest in the territories: Nunavut ($4,900), the Northwest Territories ($3,610) and Yukon ($3,310). Nova Scotia and Manitoba had the lowest median contribution at $2,300.
Among metropolitan areas, Calgary contributors had the highest median RRSP contribution ($3,900), followed by those in Vancouver ($3,400) and Toronto ($3,380).
Contributions increased in every province and territory, StatsCan reports. The largest increases occurred in Nunavut (+8.8%) and Yukon (+8.0%). The smallest increase was in Prince Edward Island (+0.1%). The highest percentage increases in the number of contributors occurred in Yukon (+4.4%) and in Saskatchewan (+3.3%). In absolute numbers, the largest gain was in Quebec, where the number of contributors increased by 9,220.
Investment income drops
Separately, StatsCan also reported that the number of taxfilers reporting investment income and the amount of investment income reported both declined in 2010. The government agency says that more than 7.5 million people reported income from investments totalling $50.0 billion, according to income tax returns for 2010.
The number of people reporting investment income fell 8.5% from 2009, while total investment income decreased 3.4%. Also, the proportion of taxfilers reporting investment income at the national level decreased from 33.7% in 2009 to 30.6% in 2010. Declines occurred in every province and territory.
The median investment income at the Canada level fell from $600 in 2009 to $550 in 2010.
Also in 2010, 3.7 million investors reported $44.0 billion of dividend and interest income. The number of investors declined 0.3%, while the total dividend and interest income reported increased 0.4%. And, the number of savers declined by 15.3% to just below 3.8 million in 2010. Total interest income reported decreased 24.2% to $6.0 billion.