Being a corporate professional leaving to build an independent financial advisory practice, I wanted my first article to have a personal touch; to better guide others who were also transitioning during this time or simply did nothing with those savings.

Rather than going into detail about group retirement savings plans since they can be structured differently, the focus is to decide what to do with the account after leaving your employer. There are 4 options:

1. Leave it with your existing group plan provider.
2. “Registered transfer” to your new employer plan (if you have one)
3. “Registered transfer” to a personally held individual retirement account.
4. Cash it out and face the tax consequences.

So which option is the best? It depends on the individual. I will quickly outline the problems with each one:

1. Your “fees” may be higher since you are no longer with your employer (gets transferred to an individual plan held under the group administrator), and it is still generally a Do-It-Yourself account when it comes to managing it. There is a limited investment selection. You may also forget and neglect the account.
2. Generally, a Do-It-Yourself account as with most group plans and limited investment selection.  
3. You will pay regular investment fees (whatever are being charged in your existing individual accounts and the transfer fee out fee which varies based on the group plan company) and you will be working with whomever has been managing your investments (could be a good or bad thing, haha)
4. Taxes on withdrawal and loss of RRSP lifetime contribution room. Amount that can be withdrawn is generally limited by what you had personally contributed to the plan and may not include the employer matched portion.

These are just quick pointers that may help, but I would still recommend speaking with a qualified financial professional. I have noticed many people go with the most convenient option as they are most likely handling other priorities in life.  However, this is done without recognizing the impact proper management of these group retirement accounts could have on their future. The biggest mistake many people make is doing nothing at all.  Feel free to reach out if you would like to discuss your situation in more detail.