Notice #996: Updated Employment and Social Development Canada application and Registered Education Savings Plan transfer forms

Information bulletin

Number: CESP/PCEE‑2023/24‑001‑996

Date: June 1, 2023

Subject: Updated Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) application and Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) transfer forms

Related bulletins

This information bulletin follows notices:

• #929 – Accessibility updates to the RESP transfer form and the ESDC application form (for beneficiaries under age 18)
• #958 – Rescinding mandatory use date of the 2021-09 versions of the RESP transfer form and the ESDC application form
• #966 – Saskatchewan Advantage Grant for Education Savings (SAGES) cancellation
• #984 - Canada Education Savings Program Interface transaction standards, version 5.9

Purpose

To provide ESDC forms that were updated for:

• gender
• ending of SAGES
• accessibility

Background

There have been program changes related to the incentives that ESDC delivers. These changes include:

• new gender collection practices
• ending of SAGES (refer to notice #966)

ESDC forms were updated to reflect these changes.

ESDC will collect gender instead of sex and has added a non‑binary gender option.

All mentions of SAGES were removed.

Affected forms

1. SAGES related forms were removed from the website. This includes:
   • Annex C - Application: Saskatchewan Advantage Grant for Education Savings (SAGES)
   • Saskatchewan Advantage Grant for Education Savings Waiver of Repayment
2. All of ESDC’s application and transfer forms have new form versions. This includes all annexes and parts to the:
   • ESDC application form for education savings incentives
   • Canada Learning Bond (CLB) application for adult beneficiaries
   • RESP transfer forms

What the changes include

The changes on the new form versions include, where applicable:

• collection of gender instead of sex
• a new non‑binary gender option
• use of gender neutral language
• removal of SAGES mentions
• simpler language in the “Your privacy rights” sections

The new form versions also include the accessible features of the 2021‑09 versions. Refer to notice #929 for a list of features. Since ESDC rescinded the use date for these versions (refer to notice #958), they have been removed from the website. They are still available to promoters by request.

Gender collection

Application forms and annexes

Promoters should collect gender on the forms as is current practice. However, ESDC understands that there may be instances where the client does not specify a gender. In these cases, it is acceptable for the promoter to accept the form with the gender field left blank.

Transfer forms

Promoters should continue to indicate gender on the transfer forms if the gender is known. If the gender is unknown, promoters can leave this field blank on the transfer forms.

Mandatory use of new forms

The new forms have an extended implementation period. They will become mandatory on May 1, 2024. Promoters can use the new forms anytime after September 1, 2023, if they are ready.

The forms are available online at Canada.ca/RESPresources. Click on the Forms tab to access them.

Unlocked forms

Promoters may contact ESDC to request unlocked versions of these forms to pre‑fill some of the fields.

This includes, for example, the following fields:

• RESP provider
• RESP contract number
• subscriber names
• beneficiary information

To assist with properly filling out the form and to reduce errors, promoters may also add logic to fillable fields of the transfer form.

To receive the unlocked forms, the following conditions apply:

• completed unlocked forms shall not be made available to clients electronically, and
• text, content, format, and layout must remain identical to the approved published version(s) on ESDC’s website

Proper use of ESDC forms may be verified during a compliance review.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this notice, please contact us:

• by using our online contact page
• by phone at 1-888-276-3624
• by e-mail at cesp‑pcee@hrsdc‑rhdcc.gc.ca

Our business hours are from 8 am to 5 pm, Eastern Time.