Future of work

This report analyzes the trends in Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) investments among different subgroups of the population including low- and high-income, immigrants and Indigenous people, as well as across provinces.  

Families in the top tier of income distribution are more likely to hold RESPs, but the gap in RESP investment between families at the top and bottom of income distribution is decreasing. In 2019, high-income families held 6.7 times more RESP investments than their counterparts in the bottom quintile, compared to 8.2 times in 2016. 

Even though children of immigrants tend to be highly educated compared to children of Canadian-born parents, there is no significant difference in RESP investment between immigrant and non-immigrant families.  

Indigenous families living off-reserve have two to three times less invested in RESPs compared to non-Indigenous families, but a large share of this difference can be explained by variation in income, wealth and parental education. Indigenous (off-reserve) and non-Indigenous families with similar income, wealth and parental education invest similarly in RESPs. 

While at first glance there seems to be an important disparity in RESP investment across provinces, much is explained by differences in income and wealth between provinces. Once these determinants are accounted for, families in Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta and British Columbia have the highest adjusted RESP investments.