Who sets up a group RRSP for a small company in London, Ontario?
Book a 10-minute callWant the how, not the who?- see how a group RRSP is set upGovernment of Ontario, Employer Health Tax, Remuneration. Confirm the treatment of your own payroll with your accountant.
Who you would be dealing with
- A licensed broker based in London, Ontario
- Independent and family-owned since 1994
- 300+ Canadian businesses served
- Design and review meetings across Southwestern Ontario
RiskX does, through our local broker in London, Ontario. He is licensed in Ontario and meets employers in person from London out to Lambeth, Delaware, Komoka, Mount Brydges and Dorchester, and as far as Sarnia, Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. Behind him is RiskX, an independent, family-owned brokerage that has designed and run group retirement and benefits plans for Canadian businesses since 1994. Our London broker designs the plan and stays your contact; enrolment is digital, run by our Canadian platform partner's team in virtual sessions, and the platform administers the accounts. For a London company of 20 to 200 people the setup usually takes about 8 to 10 weeks; larger plans take longer.
RiskX Insurance Brokers Inc. is an independent, family-owned employee-benefits and group-retirement brokerage founded in 1994, licensed as an insurance brokerage in Alberta and Ontario, working with employers in London and Southwestern Ontario through a locally based broker and setting up group retirement plans for employers across Canada outside Quebec through a Canadian platform partner.
Last updated: August 2026
The Ontario detail most group RRSPs miss
Ontario employers pay Employer Health Tax on payroll above the exemption. Ontario's own rules say that "employer contributions to or matching amounts for your group RRSP contributions are taxable and are subject to EHT", while employer contributions to a deferred profit sharing plan "are not included as remuneration... and are not subject to EHT" (Government of Ontario, Employer Health Tax, Remuneration, accessed August 2026). The top EHT rate is 1.95 percent on Ontario remuneration above $400,000, and eligible private-sector employers have a $1 million exemption; employers above $5 million in Ontario payroll cannot claim it (Government of Ontario, EHT overview and Tax exemption pages, accessed August 2026).
1.95%
top EHT rate on Ontario remuneration above $400,000
$1M
exemption for eligible private-sector employers
$5M
Ontario payroll above which the exemption cannot be claimed
In plain terms: if your London company is above the exemption and you want to match your employees' savings, the employer side of that match can often be paid into a DPSP instead of the group RRSP. The employee ends up with the same retirement money; the employer's side is treated differently for EHT. Two honest limits: owners and shareholders holding 10 percent or more, and their relatives, cannot be DPSP members (Income Tax Act s.147(2)(k.2)), and DPSP money can vest over up to 24 months (s.147(2)(i)), which many employers use on purpose as a retention feature. This is a design conversation we have in the first call. Confirm the tax treatment for your own payroll with your accountant; we will put it in writing for them.
Sources: ontario.ca, Employer Health Tax - Remuneration; Employer Health Tax overview; Employer Health Tax - Tax exemption; Income Tax Act, section 147. General information, not tax advice.
Who does which part
You
The employer
Your part is one call of about ten minutes, booked directly with our London broker. You tell him what the plan is for: keeping skilled people in a tight Southwestern Ontario labour market, rewarding the people who built the company, or simply getting a known cost on the books. Then you decide.
Our London broker, and RiskX
Your broker and named contact
Our London broker's part is the design: the match and who is eligible, whether the employer side goes into a DPSP, the comparison of options, coordinating the setup, and an annual review. RiskX keeps the governance file CAPSA expects a plan sponsor to have.
The platform
A Canadian, low-fee digital record-keeper
The platform's part is enrolment, run as virtual sessions for your team, payroll integration with your provider, the accounts, the app your employees use, and the statements. It is Canadian, digital, and low fee, and RiskX stays independent of it.
London is a real market for this, not an afterthought
The London Economic Region had 455 employers with 100 to 499 staff and 69 with 500 or more as of June 2024 (Statistics Canada Canadian Business Counts, reported in the London Economic Development Corporation's Local Labour Market Plan 2025 to 2026). The city's key sectors, per the LEDC, are agri-food, manufacturing, digital media and technology, health and life sciences, and defence and aerospace, and Western University and Fanshawe College supply the graduates those employers compete for (City of London, Economic Development). Companies like that keep people by offering something a competitor's salary bump cannot copy in a week. A retirement plan with a match, designed properly, is one of the few benefits that does that.
455
London-region employers with 100 to 499 staff
69
London-region employers with 500 or more staff
Western and Fanshawe
the graduate pipeline London employers compete for
Sources: LEDC Local Labour Market Plan 2025 to 2026 (Statistics Canada Canadian Business Counts, June 2024); LEDC key sectors; City of London, Economic Development.
Why a London employer would work with RiskX
A licensed broker based in London who will sit in your boardroom, not a call centre.
Independent and family-owned since 1994; plans running for more than 300 Canadian businesses.
Group retirement plans for employers across Canada outside Quebec, through our Canadian platform partner; our London broker is licensed in Ontario and RiskX is licensed as an insurance brokerage in Alberta and Ontario.
We tell you when your existing plan is fine. Some reviews end exactly there.
One package if you want it: group retirement, health and dental, and virtual care designed together. Group retirement can also stand alone.
What it costs, and how long it takes
What it costs
The employer match is the cost; how you set eligibility, vesting and the DPSP question shapes the number as much as the percentage does. Worked examples, marked as illustrative, are on our group retirement page.
See the illustrative worked examples →How long it takes
From first call to first payroll deduction, the average timeline is 8 to 10 weeks for a company of 20 to 200 people; larger plans take longer.
See the three-step setup process →Already have a plan in Ontario?
Then the EHT point above may already be costing you, and the fees may not have been looked at since the plan was signed. Start with the fee review.
Start with the fee reviewLondon and Ontario group RRSP questions
Who can set up a group RRSP for a small company in London, Ontario?
RiskX does. Our local broker, based in London and licensed in Ontario, designs and sets up group RRSP and DPSP plans for employers across London and Southwestern Ontario; a Canadian platform administers the accounts.
Do you meet in person in London and Southwestern Ontario?
Yes, for the design and review conversations; our broker is based in London. Enrolment is digital, run by our platform partner as virtual sessions for your team. Book a time directly.
Are you licensed in Ontario?
Yes. Our London broker is licensed in Ontario, RiskX is licensed as an insurance brokerage in Alberta and Ontario, and we work with employers across Canada outside Quebec on group retirement plans through our platform partner. Quebec is not covered yet, and we expect that to change.
Do our group RRSP matching contributions attract Ontario Employer Health Tax, and would a DPSP avoid that?
Under Ontario's EHT rules, employer contributions to or matching of group RRSP contributions are remuneration subject to EHT, and employer DPSP contributions are not. Whether that matters for you depends on your Ontario payroll against the $1 million exemption; confirm with your accountant.
How long does setup take for a London company?
The average is 8 to 10 weeks for a company of 20 to 200 people, most of it enrolment and payroll integration; larger plans take longer.
What does a group RRSP cost a 50-person company?
The employer match. See the illustrative worked example on the group retirement page.
Can we start with a small match and grow it?
Yes. Many employers begin modestly and step up at the annual review once they see participation.
Do you also handle group benefits in London?
Yes, group retirement, health and dental, and virtual care, as one package or separately.
Prepared by RiskX
Written by Jarod Smith, CEO, RiskX Insurance Brokers Inc. Reviewed by Gordon Smith, RiskX Insurance Brokers Inc. Updated August 19, 2026.
Sources
Ontario Employer Health Tax treatment and rates: ontario.ca, Employer Health Tax - Remuneration, EHT overview, EHT tax exemption. DPSP membership and vesting: Income Tax Act, section 147. London employer counts and sectors: LEDC Local Labour Market Plan 2025 to 2026, LEDC key sectors, City of London, Economic Development. RiskX firm details are first-party. Information here is general and not individualized tax, legal or investment advice; confirm your own payroll treatment with your accountant.