As of March 18, 2022, Saskatchewan residents will be able to apply to their financial institution to withdraw money from their Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA) for financial hardship reasons.

Financial Hardship Reasons That Allow Residents to Apply to Access Funds in Their LIRA Are:

• Having low expected income in the upcoming year.
• Having incurred or expect to incur medical expenses.
• Being in arrears on rent payment and at risk of being evicted if the rent remains unpaid.
• Being in arrears on mortgage payments, and at risk of the residence being foreclosed if the mortgage remains unpaid.
• Requiring funds to secure a new rental residence.

There are separate applications for each financial hardship reason.

Applications must be submitted to your financial institution, not to the FCAA.

To Apply:

• Download the application that applies to your situation.
• Fill out the application and gather the necessary documents.
• Submit your application to your financial institution (not to the FCAA).
• If you have a spouse, you must submit the Spousal Waiver form as part of your application package to the financial institution.                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Any money that is unlocked may be subject to withholding tax.

• Financial Hardship Unlocking - Low Expected Income
• Financial Hardship Unlocking - Medical Expenses
• Financial Hardship Unlocking - Arrears on Rent Payments
• Financial Hardship Unlocking - Arrears on Mortgage Payments
• Financial Hardship Unlocking - Funds to Secure a New Principal Rental Residence
• Financial Hardship Unlocking - Spousal Waiver

Complete information on unlocking your LIRA funds can be found here.