Effective January 1, 2008, a locked-in account owner who is a non-resident of Canada, as determined by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the purposes of the federal Income Tax Act, may apply to unlock and withdraw all the money in their locked-in account two years after departing Canada.
Do you qualify?
If you are interested in finding out if you qualify as a non-resident of Canada, you can find more information on the CRA’s website. Make sure you take a look at the criteria that the CRA uses for determining if a person is a non-resident of Canada. Read NR73 Determination of Residency Status (leaving Canada) and Residency status determination.
How do you apply to unlock the money in your locked-in account?
If you satisfy the CRA’s requirements for being a non-resident of Canada, you need to complete and sign FSRA’s Form 5 - Application to Withdraw or Transfer Money from an Ontario Locked-in Account. You then need to submit the form to the financial institution that holds the locked-in account and ensure that it is accompanied by the following:
- a written determination from the CRA that states you are a non-resident of Canada for the purposes of the Income Tax Act
- written consent from your spouse or a certification that you do not have a spouse
Can you make this application at any age? If you already used the money in the locked-in account to purchase an annuity can you still apply?
If you satisfy the CRA’s requirements for being a non-resident of Canada, you can unlock and withdraw money from your locked-in account at any age. These rules only apply to money that is held in an Ontario locked-in account when you submit FSRA’s Form 5 - Application to Withdraw or Transfer Money from an Ontario Locked-in Account to your financial institution. If you already purchased an annuity with money that was previously in your locked-in account, you will not be able to apply to take money out of your annuity.