Almost all participants (Canadians and community-based organisations (CBOs)) voiced support for the idea of automatic enrolment because it would improve access to the benefit by streamlining the enrolment process for all eligible recipients. As eligible youth are from families experiencing low income, those families often struggle to commit the additional time or cognitive and financial resources required to enroll their child in a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) and get the Canada Learning Bond (CLB). Automatic enrolment could ensure that children are not missing out on benefits that can support their access to post-secondary education.
However, many participants highlighted that automatic enrolment would need to be accompanied by proper instructions and explanations on what the account is and how to use it. Most participants would like to have access to online support and clear information on how to use the RESP account. Specifically, the information needs to be clear so that there are no costs associated with the government-opened RESP account, and there are no contribution requirements or minimums. There also need to be clear instructions on how to withdraw and use CLB funds for post-secondary education.
Regarding RESP providers, both Canadians and CBOs emphasized the importance of individual choice. Most people are more likely to trust the RESP provider if there is a sense familiarity, such as if they already do their banking with the same provider. Throughout engagements, several participants questioned whether the government would be choosing a financial institution for their government-opened accounts and noted that this “does not sit well” with them.
To preserve and encourage individual choice and mitigate involuntary relationships with financial institutions, it is important to give individuals time to open their own RESPs before automatically enrolling them to a government opened account. It is essential that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) not impose a contract on any individual by opening an account on their behalf. ESDC could be the subscriber of the RESP account first, while providing Canadians access to the account through a government portal. Then, an individual could choose to take ownership over their automatically opened RESP through the government portal, or they could decide to transfer the account to their preferred financial institution.
