A significant percentage of Canadian millennials are unaware of how an RRSP can help them prepare for major life milestones, such as buying their first home or funding a return to school, according to new research from Toronto-based Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank released on Monday.

In turn, financial advisors have a role to play in educating their young clients and their clients’ adult children on the more immediate — as well as the long-term — benefits of saving through an RRSP.

TD’s Funds with benefits poll found that exactly half of Canadian millennials are unaware that their RRSPs can be used to help purchase their first home. In addition, only 28% of millennials realize those funds can be applied to pay for school or undergo a training program as a mature student through the federal government’s “lifelong learning plan.”

If millennials were more informed of these opportunities, they may be more inclined to contribute to an RRSP, says Lee Bennett, senior vice president of TD Wealth Financial Planning, in a statement.

The bank’s research indicates that young Canadians are finding it difficult to contribute to their RRSPs, with more than 40% saying they cannot afford to contribute right now because there are too many demands on their money and 28% saying they are currently saving for other priorities.

“It’s easy to see how younger Canadians find it difficult to make regular [RRSP] contributions when there are so many things they want to save for now,” says Bennett. “But knowing you can use part of your [RRSP] for some more immediate priorities, in addition to reaching your long-term financial goals, can make it easier to redirect at least part of your savings into one.”

However, Bennett notes there are long-term implications to using an RRSP for the purposes of buying a first home or returning to school, and advisors could help clients understand those potential consequences.

The research also found millennials were uninformed about other proper uses of funds within an RRSP, with 64% not knowing those funds cannot be used for making a charitable donation; 60% not realizing child-care expenses cannot be paid for using money from an RRSP; and 52% being unaware that a car cannot be financed with RRSP funds.

TD’s poll surveyed 2,115 adults, of which 613 were between the ages of 18 and 33 and considered to be millennials. Environics Research conducted the online survey for the bank between Oct. 30, 2015 and Nov. 5, 2015.