Canada Savings Bond

The Amazing Canada Savings Bond And You

Published Date: July 22, 2010

When you want to build up a good, safe investment for yourself, or you want to save money for a retirement without losing sleep, you should look at the Canada Savings Bond. The Canada Savings Bond is an investment instrument created by the government of Canada and it sells between October and April of every year. Issued through the Bank of Canada, it offers a competitive rate of interest and there is a guaranteed minimum interest rate on it.

Created in 1946 as Victory War Bonds, it was a safe way to invest and to save for Canadians who did not want to use mutual funds. The Victory War Bonds were just one of four different types of bonds that were issued including the Canada – Dominion War Savings Certificate, the Canada Fourth Victory Loan and the Dominion of Canada Victory Loan.

These Canada Savings Bonds became very popular and a great way to invest and they would often be bought for younger children as a gift that they could redeem years down the road. However, lately, bond sales have begun to fall because of the low interest rate environment causing yields to be lower, which means more people are going to stocks and mutual funds in order to get more money for what they are spending. During the 1980s, rates were as high as 18 percent, which yielded big savings, but these days the interest rate has fallen by so much that Canada Savings Bonds held by Canadians were no more than 10 percent of people. In totally, Canada Savings Bonds are worth $19.2 billion in terms of bonds held by Canadians.

There are many types of Canada Savings Bonds that you can buy. These include:

·      Canada Savings Bonds are purchased with regular and compounding interest varieties and you can cash them at any time. They come in denominations of $100, $300, $1,000 and $10,000 with the interest guaranteed for a year and then fluctuating for the remaining nine years until the Savings Bond reaches its maturity date.

·      Canada Premium Bonds are purchased with the same choices in interest as Canada Savings Bonds but they can only be cashed on the anniversary of the issue date, or within 30 days after. Other than that, they are pretty much the same as Canada Savings bonds except the interest rates differ slightly. These bonds are sold with interest rates up to the third each, with each year after having higher interest and the interest rate fluctuates for the remaining seven years depending on the condition of the market until the maturity date is reached.

·      Canada Investment Bonds were available for a time between 2003 and 2004 and are were not redeemable until they matured, and each one had three-year maturities.

There are also several plans that are offered through the Canada Savings Bond, which include:

1.    The Canada RSP, which is a no-fee retirement savings plan that, uses compound interest Canada Premium and Canada Savings Bonds.

2.    The Canada RIF, which is a no-fee retirement income fund that holds Canada Premium and Canada Savings Bonds.

3.    The Payroll Deduction, which is when employees choose how much they can have deducted off their paycheques in order to put into a Canada Savings Bond under the Canada RSP.

In regards to the rates that are used in the Canada Savings Bonds, with the exception of when the rate is fixed at the start of the bond term, the rate is always dictated by the market conditions. An example of this was seen in 2009 when there was a very low rate in the market, which meant that those who purchased the Canada Savings Bonds in that year having very low rates. Low rates mean that your bond is not going to increase in value by much, which is why the Canada Savings Bond market is not doing as well in terms of the number of Canadians buying the bonds.

If you want to withdrawal from your Canada Savings Bond, you can typically do so at any point from most of the big banks within Canada. If you withdraw within three months of issue, you typically will only get the face value of the bond back. What is meant by this is if you have a $10,000 Canada Savings Bond, then you will get $10,000 back. After the first three months, you get the face value plus any interest you have received on the bond. With the Canada Premium Bonds, you can redeem them one year and 30 days after issue, which is important to keep in mind.

You are going to be fully taxed since the Canada Savings Bond is seen as income at your current tax rate. This is why it is a very good idea to take your Canada Savings Bond and hold it in an account that is tax-deferred, like your Registered Retirement Savings Plan.

The Canada Savings Bonds are a very safe way to invest and a good way to build up money that you can use for your retirement. If the Canada Savings Bond grows at the 18 percent per year as was seen in the 1980s, then a $10,000 Canada Savings Bond over that ten years will go from $10,000 to $52,338 by the time the ten years is over. Even at a low of four percent per year, your $10,000 would grow to $14,802.

A safe investment that can also serve as a good gift for someone, the Canada Savings Bond is what you should consider if you are new to investing, or you do not want to invest in the riskier investments of mutual funds and stocks. This way you keep your money growing, albeit at a slower ate, while at the same time increasing your savings using nothing but the interest rate that exists at the time. Look into the Canada Savings Bond and see your savings grow without you having to do anything.