RRSP Match Calculator
How much value will an RRSP matching program help my portfolio?
Provide calculator feedback →If you're making a yearly salary of
and do a matchable RRSP contribution of
and your Employer matches
of your contributions.
With your employer match, your total yearly RRSP contribution total is
$8,000Without the employer match, however, the total is only
$4,000This is equivalent to increasing your overall RRSP contribution to
10%from your current contribution rate of 5%.
Alternatively, you can achieve this by increasing your contribution by another
$4,000just to catch up.
Looking into the future
Over time, this deficit can grow. And at an average interest rate of
and over a time range of
In 30 years, your contribution + employer match will grow to
$811,333But without an employer match, it will only grow to
$405,666How RRSP employer matching actually works
An employer RRSP match is a contribution your employer makes into your RRSP on top of whatever you contribute yourself. The most common structure is a percentage match up to a cap, like "we'll match 100% of your contributions up to 5% of your salary." If you're earning $80,000 and you contribute 5%, that's $4,000 from you and $4,000 from your employer. The match is, effectively, free money attached to your paycheque.
It still counts toward your RRSP limit
Both your contributions and the employer's match count against your annual RRSP contribution room. So if your room for the year is $15,000 and your employer matched $4,000, you have $11,000 of room left for any contributions outside the workplace plan. The CRA tracks the total. Greenline's 2026 RRSP limit guide walks through how room is calculated and where matched contributions land in your Notice of Assessment.
Why people leave the match on the table
It's common for workers with access to an employer match to contribute less than the matchable maximum. Usually the reason is cash-flow tightness, but the math is brutal: a 100% match is an immediate 100% return on the dollars you put in, before any investment growth. Even a partial match (say 50%) accelerates the speed at which your RRSP grows compared to contributing the same dollars on your own.
A quick worked example
Take a $100,000 salary with a 100% match up to 5%. Contribute 5% yourself ($5,000) and your employer adds $5,000, for $10,000 going into your RRSP that year. If you contributed only 3% instead, you'd put in $3,000 and the employer would add $3,000, leaving $4,000 of free match money unclaimed. Over a 30-year career at typical market returns, that gap compounds into six figures of missed retirement savings.
Related calculators
Income & Pay Raise Tax Calculator
Calculate the amount of income tax you may need to pay based on your yearly salary and your province.
Maximum TFSA Contribution Room Calculator
What is my maximum TFSA contribution room so far?
Monthly Dividend Calculator
How many dividend paying stocks should I own to get a specific monthly income?