“Well the sun’s not so hot in the sky today, I can see summertime slipping away. A few more geese gone, a few more leaves turning red…” Like the words recorded by James Taylor in the song “September Grass”, as we enter the month of September we are reminded of the changing of the seasons. One of these changes is that our children and grandchildren are heading back to school.

Many parents and grandparents are often looking to help their children and grandchildren excel in all aspects of life, including education. Those children that are off to post secondary facilities often have an enormous financial burden ahead of them. In many cases at this time of year, students and parents are struggling to fund this education.

From a financial planning and tax perspective one method of funding post secondary education is through an RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan). An RESP is a tax deferred education savings vehicle through which the federal government allows the subscriber to save money for the beneficiary’s post secondary education. Starting in 2007, there is no annual limit for contributions to RESPs . For each beneficiary, the lifetime limit on the amounts that can be contributed to RESPs is $50,000. Human Resources and Social Development Canada pays a 20% Canada Education Savings Grant on the first $2,500 of annual contributions made to all eligible RESPs for a qualifying beneficiary.

To promote saving for a child’s education the government contributes 20 percent of the annual contributions made to an RESP through the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) to a lifetime maximum of $7,200 per beneficiary. Even better, is that in the 2004 budget the grant was increased for low and middle income families. What could be better than educating those precious little minds so they have the opportunity bloom like the beautiful Cosmos flower, after which The Uxbridge Cosmos community newspaper was named.

If you have further questions, please contact us at APEX INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT at 905-852-3302.

Mutual Funds provided through FundEX Investments Inc.