IRAs for non resident citizens

[Beloa00]

Maybe silly question. You are dual citizens about to move to Canada.
Is it a problem to keep for all these accounts in question the US address?

[coco1106]

Beloa00
There are no silly questions, we are dual citizens, once we relocate to Canada we will no longer have a US address
Some US brokerage firms do not like to have NON US residents as clients, once you change your US address problems may arise with respect to the brokerage company were your IRA is located........vanguard is not very friendly to non US residents, even though you are a US citizen,
TD Amertrade is more friendly, we are with Fidelity we hope that our IRAs will be able to be maintained with them when we move to Canada.

[moi]

Hmmm, both RBC Wealth Management in the usa, and TD Ameritrade, take on Canadians with ira's.

[coco1106]

Moi

Yes.... RBC usa informed me that we can transfer our IRA, ROTHs with them , we are dual citizens usa /cdn, we only have assets in USA , nothing in Canada , we plan on the move next year.

We plan on opening a acct with RBC in ontario, they have accts for new comers, also for Americans living in Canada , and for Canadians who travel/live in USA.

[coco1106]

Moi

Ideally we would like to keep things nice and simple and keep everything with Fidelity , but I can never get a definite answer from them with regards to maintaining retirements accts when we relocate to Canada, we have meeting next month with them , we may get more information.

However RBC USA had told us that our retirement accts are absolutely no problem for non US residents.............. like I said we are dual citizens, lived in USA for 25 yrs.

[coco1106]

Its been a while since I posted on here.........been very ill for a few weeks, had a nasty slip on the ice while I was walking home from the gym!!! thank goodness I was wearing my huge winter coat, pulled several muscles and cracked rib ! then I got cold, turned to flu then pneumonia. !!!!! the stress of all this , and worrying about the move , plus not being able to sleep meant it took almost 2 months to recover.

I know this move will be amazing when it happens, being with family in Canada will be lovely , but its so stressful dealing with all this.

Once we have our meetings I will post my findings , if it helps someone then I will be happy I could help.

sorry for the rant, have a lovely evening xx

[Kuchie]

I am a Canadian citizen who worked in the US as a Permanent Resident (Green Card) and moved back to Canada in 2018. I also officially abandoned my Green Card in 2018.

I had taxable and retirement accounts with several brokers in the US (TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, Etrade). I consolidated them all to Ameritrade before I moved as they had told me that I could keep all accounts (taxable and retirement). However, when I updated my address online to one in Canada, I did get a letter from them saying I needed to liquidate or transfer to a Canadian brokerage my taxable account. I still have both my Roth and Rollover IRA's with TD Ameritrade with a Canadian address. I can trade in both freely.

I also have my HSA with the same company that administered it for the company I worked for in the US. They couldn't update my address to a Canadian one and I will have to contact them when my HSA debit card expires and I need a new one sent to me. I will need to phone them a month or so in advance so they can manually send me the new card to a Canadian address. I have already used my HSA to be reimbursed for a dental appointment in Canada. I still maintain a US checking account and they just electronically deposit the reimbursements.

[nelsona]

Indeed, they should never have told you that your taxable accounts could be maintained, That is forbidden by Cdn securities laws.
But good advice on TD Ameritrade.

[coco1106]

Kuchie

I am sorry about your taxable accts, But that is good to hear that your retirements accts are still maintained in USA.

Can I ask you about your HSA...........We have one will Fidelity I have been trying to get information from them with regards to what we can do with it when we move to Canada, they can never give me a straight answer!!! We have about 40k in there.

Can you use it for medical/dental/vision needs when you move to Canada ??? (we currently live in USA..planning on moving next yr) that would be great if we could use it when we move.

When you say Taxable accts do you been after tax investments?? we have a acct with fidelity, husband said we will turn into cash when we move, but he wanted to put the money in our USA bank acct..................BTW are we allowed to have USA bank acct when we relocate..OMG I did not even think of this ,I hope we can maintain our bank acct...something else to worry about.

[coco1106]

One last thing, I mentioned RBC usa allowing us to maintain IRA roths with a canadian address , apparently Charles Schwab also allows NON US residents to maintain IRA,roths...I reached out to them , we have a meeting set up with them, then we will figure out our options for our accts .

Ideally we would like to stay with Fidelity, but since we can never get a straight answer from them with regards to being non residents , its frustrating,

We have only made phone calls to Fidelity so it may be that we are not asking the correct questions or we are not speaking to the correct person, husband has a meeting with them also this summer ( lots of meetings !!!) so we can get some straight answers and move forward, also get something in writing from their compliance dept.

After researching and reading post on here I feel Fidelity will let us maintain our retirement with them as non US residents. but its good to have a back up plan just in case there is a issue.

[Kuchie]

Coco,

I'm not sure if the laws are open to interpretation and each Brokerage interprets them differently or some are able to do what others cannot because they operate in both the US and Canada or if there is some other reason, but each seems to have different rules with regards to brokerage accounts owned by someone without a US address. As I had mentioned, I had accounts with Fidelity (a regular taxable brokerage account, a Roth and and Rollover IRA). They told me that I couldn't keep the taxable account and while I could keep the retirement accounts, I would only be able to sell positions (stocks). I wouldn't be able to buy anything new.

I would phone Fidelity and speak to several representatives as I found that some I talked to didn't know all the rules (true for any brokerage).

The taxable account wasn't a big deal (when I say taxable, I mean it is a regular brokerage account with funds that not in retirement accounts so gains will be taxed). I just transferred it to a Canadian brokerage firm. You don't necessarily have to liquidate any stocks (mutual funds may have to be liquidated if the brokerage firm you transfer to don't offer that particular fund). I believe most have US dollar accounts. It takes a couple weeks where you won't be able to trade, but the process is relatively easy. Your old brokerage may charge you an exit fee, but most other brokerages will reimburse you back that amount for transferring the account to them. Many also have bonuses depending on the amount the account is worth.

You asked about keeping a US bank account and I still have my Chase checking account. I kept it mostly to use to pay my US income tax this year, but it is also used for reimbursements from my HSA. I would ask your bank as maybe different banks have different policies.

I'm pretty sure the rules for HSA accounts allow you to keep them if you leave the country and they are supposed to be used for anything that would be covered in the US (so 'yes' to medical, dental, vision, prescriptions etc - I mentioned I already used my HSA to be reimbursed for a Canadian dental appointment). However, it is possible that a given provider (mine is HealthEquity) might have their own policies. I would also talk to Fidelity about this just to verify.

[nelsona]

The willingness of a brokerage to allow one to keep and manage a retirement (and HSA) account, is solely a matter of company policy, as Cdn security commissions allow this as decided in early 2000's , with minor compliance and registration reqs. Non-retirement accounts are strictly forbidden. The reverse -- Cdb firms dealing with US residents -- is the same. And far fewer Cdn firms will handle US residents.

And it doesn't have to do with whether or not a firm has "CDn" connections, although this may make them more likely to undertake the requirements.

[coco1106]

Kuchie
Thank you for your input, it was really helpful, as well as all the other comments.

Like I said hoping we can maintain IRA roths accts with Fidelity, knowing RBC usa , TD ,Schwab is reassuring.....from previous posts looks like Fidelity be ok with non US residents, of course we want this in writing .


thanks again.

[nelsona]

Here is the official response from VANGUARD with regards to accountholders in Canada:

"Yes, you can still keep your Roth IRA brokerage account. However, Vanguard
will no longer accept purchases, exchanges, or transfers (including
automated purchases and exchanges) into existing accounts owned by
shareholders in Canada.

Reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions will still be
allowed, and existing shareholders can sell shares from their accounts at
any time.

We apologize for any inconvenience this policy may cause. We enacted the
policy to ensure that we remain in compliance with applicable regulations
and to safeguard the interests of our funds and shareholders."

So, essentially one's Roth account becomes frozen. This is how non-sheltered accounts are to be treated, not retirement accounts!

Very disappointing.

[nelsona]

Here is a response from TD Ameritrade on Roths:

TD Ameritrade is currently unable to offer new or maintain accounts for persons with mailing and/or physical addresses in Canada. We appreciate your interest in opening an account and wish you the best in your investment needs.

This seems to go against what Kuchie is experiencing with TD. Wonder what was differ4nt in his case?