Taking the match and understanding the plan are different things. An employee can receive the full match without knowing what the company adds in dollars, how to read their statement or who to ask about a decision. Start by making those answers easy to find in the plan you already have.
This is for HR leaders and owners whose group RRSP or RRSP/DPSP plan seems to be working: people joined, contributions go through and the match is being used. The next question is whether employees understand what that benefit is worth to them.
Why can high match take-up leave something unanswered?
Joining can be one decision made in the first weeks of a job, on one form among many. After that, contributions come off every paycheque automatically. That's useful. It also means someone can contribute for years and still think of the match as a percentage on a form, rather than money the company adds every payday.
Match take-up tells you whether people receive the employer contribution available to them. It doesn't tell you whether they understand the plan. Our article on measuring match participation covers how to measure use. This one is about helping people understand what they already have.
How do you explain the match in dollars instead of a percentage?
"We match up to 4% of your pay" asks employees to do the math. Show the dollars per paycheque and per year alongside the percentage.
Illustration only: an employee earns $52,000 a year, receives 26 equal paycheques and contributes 4% of pay. The employer matches dollar for dollar up to 4%. All pay is eligible, and both contributions go into the group RRSP.
| Per paycheque | Per year | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay before deductions | $2,000 | $52,000 |
| Employee contribution | $80 | $2,080 |
| Employer match | $80 | $2,080 |
| Total contributions | $160 | $4,160 |
In this example, the company adds $80 to the employee's retirement savings every payday, or $2,080 a year. Over five full years at the same pay and contribution rate, the employer would contribute $10,400. That's money contributed, not a prediction of what the account will be worth.
Use your plan's actual formula, eligible pay, limits and pay frequency, and have payroll check the figures before sharing them. These are contribution amounts, not take-home pay or investment returns. Employer RRSP contributions are generally a taxable benefit; our RRSP tax and payroll guide explains the details. CRA's contributions guidance confirms that treatment. If the employer share goes into a DPSP, show that account separately and use the DPSP rules.
Can employees connect today's contributions to retirement?
The dollars going in are the starting point. Ask your provider for a sample statement and a demonstration of the tools employees can use. Check four things:
- Can employees distinguish their contributions from the employer's, including matching amounts?
- Can they see potential retirement income as well as today's balance?
- Are projection assumptions available and clear, including contributions, timing, returns and fees?
- Would a range of results help explain uncertainty, with a clear statement that actual results will differ?
These checks draw on CAPSA's 2024 guidance, sections 4.3, 4.3.1, 5.1 and 5.2.1. It is guidance for plans in its scope, not a new blanket law. A range is a consideration, not a universal requirement. HR's practical job here is to help employees find and understand the available information, with the provider explaining the tool's limits.
Where should the plan show up during the year?
At the moments people already think about pay:
- Offer letter. Show an illustration of the employer contribution beside salary, with the eligibility and employee-contribution conditions that apply.
- Onboarding. Walk through what the plan is, what the company adds, how to join and where to log in.
- Pay changes. If the match changes with eligible pay, show the new dollar amount after checking any caps.
- Bonus or commission time. Explain how extra RRSP contributions work if the plan and payroll allow them. The decision stays with the employee, subject to their available contribution room.
- Total rewards statements. Show the employer's contribution alongside the rest of the package. More on building a total rewards picture.
Keep each mention short, with a link or a clear place to find the details. People shouldn't have to remember an onboarding presentation to find out how their plan works.
Can employees find the login and the right person to ask?
Put the same current information in the intranet, onboarding pack and booklet:
- Account access: where to log in, find statements and see contributions. Explain separately how to change contributions if that goes through payroll.
- Plan rules: the HR or payroll contact for eligibility, the match and contribution procedures.
- Account help: the provider's member-support contact for access problems or account questions.
- Personal investment advice: how to reach an appropriately registered professional, where the plan includes that access.
If an employee brings you an answer from an AI chatbot, check it against the current plan documents. An answer about group RRSPs in general may not reflect your match formula, withdrawal terms, investment options or fees. Put the plan's own answers beside the login and contact details so employees have a reliable place to check.
Is a printed booklet still worth it?
A booklet handed over in a stack of onboarding forms is easy to put away. Give people a reason to keep it and open it again:
- The match in dollars, with a clearly labelled example.
- Where to log in and who to ask.
- How and when to change contributions.
- What to revisit after a raise or at bonus time.
A printed booklet can sit on a desk as a reminder that the plan exists. Keep a current digital copy available too, and check both when plan details change. The content should explain the plan in plain words, without recommending investments.
Where does an advisor fit?
Someone may need help thinking through an investment choice or a change in their circumstances. That conversation belongs with an appropriately qualified professional.
Before telling employees the plan provides advice, confirm who provides it, how to book, its scope and limits, how the advisor is paid and by whom, and any conflicts. CAPSA section 4.4 discusses optional advice arrangements and the disclosures that should accompany them. Describe the access your provider confirms for your plan; don't label account support as personal advice.
What should you look at once a year?
Set aside time to look at use alongside the questions employees raise. The participation article supplies the measurement definitions and a short, voluntary understanding check, so you can use those without building another reporting exercise here.
A change in take-up after a new message doesn't prove the message caused it. Use what you learn to choose one practical improvement: a clearer example, an easier login route or a better explanation of available help. Those are useful places to start when the plan itself is staying.
How RiskX helps
RiskX is a partner in helping employers set up and manage their group retirement plan, and with employee engagement and education. Depending on the support we agree for your situation, that can include custom booklets for your employees, branded as your company. RiskX also does an annual review of the plans it works on.
Questions employers ask
If nearly everyone takes the match, isn't the plan working?
Match take-up is useful information. It doesn't answer whether employees understand the employer's contribution, can find their statements or know where to get help. Keep those questions alongside the participation figures.
Should HR create retirement projections for employees?
Start with the provider's existing statements and tools. Use the checks above before directing employees to them. HR can explain where to find the information; personal recommendations belong with an appropriately qualified professional.
Employees ask AI about our group RRSP. What should HR do?
Make the current plan rules easy to find and check any plan-specific answer against them. Route payroll questions to HR or payroll, account questions to provider support, and personal investment questions to appropriately registered professionals. Don't ask employees to upload personal account information to a chatbot.
Can HR answer employees' investment questions?
HR can explain how the plan works and where its information is kept. Recommending an investment for a particular employee is different. Direct that question to an appropriately registered professional, through the plan where that access is available.
Sources
- CRA: Contributions to savings and pension plans, "Determine if the benefit is taxable", RRSP employer contributions. Checked October 12, 2026.
- CAPSA: Guideline No. 3, September 9, 2024, sections 1.1 and 1.2.1 (status and scope), 4.3 and 4.3.1 (tools), 4.4 (advice), 5.1 and 5.2.1(iv) (member information). Checked October 12, 2026.
RiskX helps employers understand group RRSP and DPSP questions, connect with relevant providers and coordinate agreed support. The employer retains responsibility for its plan. RiskX does not provide legal, tax or securities advice, recommend individual investments or guarantee compliance, savings or investment outcomes. Confirm plan-specific questions with the appropriate provider or qualified adviser.
The existing-plan review explains the starting conversation. RiskX's current group-retirement service is for employers outside Quebec.