Press Release
Majority of Canadians not taking advantage of TFSAs
August 11, 2009, TORONTO: ING DIRECT offers 3% interest on Tax-Free Investment Savings Accounts to encourage more Canadians to save.
(TORONTO, ON) - The majority of Canadians have not yet taken advantage of the new Tax-Free Savings program, launched by the Federal Government in January 2009, according to research conducted by Radix Market Research for ING DIRECT.
The online survey found that among clients of the "Big 5" banks, on average only 6% have opened a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). However, at ING DIRECT where savings are actively promoted all year round, 31% of clients have opened a TFSA. A TFSA can be an Investment Savings Account, a GIC, or Mutual Funds.
All Canadian residents 18 years of age or older can save up to $5,000 (for all combined TFSA accounts they hold) each year. Any unused contribution room can be carried over to the next year. But there is still time to contribute to this year's maximum contribution of $5,000 per adult, with interest earned being tax-free.
To encourage more Canadians to open a Tax-Free Investment Savings Account, ING DIRECT is offering 3% interest (calculated daily, paid monthly) up until October 1, 2009. So whether you are an existing ING DIRECT client or new client, everyone benefits. Added to the tax-free benefits of a Tax-Free Investment Savings Account are no minimums, no service charges and no fees at ING DIRECT. Canadians can also take advantage of the Automatic Savings Program (ASP) feature for their ING DIRECT Tax-Free Investment Savings Account. Contributing regularly into any savings program means taking full advantage of compounding interest while keeping things simple.
"We're paying the kind of interest usually reserved for investments that make you lock away your money at other banks," says Peter Aceto, President & CEO of ING DIRECT. "Through tax-free savings options, such as the Tax-Free Investment Savings Account, your money works harder because you don't pay tax on the interest earned. This means the power of compound interest works even faster to grow your money."
For more information, go to www.ingdirect.ca/tfisa for English, or www.ingdirect.ca/celi for French.
About ING DIRECT Canada
ING DIRECT is Canada's largest direct bank with over 1.6 million Clients and more than $27 billion in total assets. ING DIRECT gives the power of saving to all Canadians by offering high-value, simple products such as high interest savings accounts with no fees or service charges and low rates on mortgages. Low cost, index-based mutual funds are sold through ING DIRECT Funds Limited. ING DIRECT has been operating in Canada since 1997, and since that time Clients have earned more than $3.8 billion in interest. Clients can bank with ING DIRECT 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at www.ingdirect.ca or by calling 1-800 ING DIRECT (1.800.464.3473).
