Almost a quarter of Canadians (23%) have taken money out of their RRSP, according to a recent poll conducted for Bank of Nova Scotia.

The study found that the main reasons for withdrawal were to buy a first home, cover day-to-day living expenses and pay down debt.

According to the study, the majority of Canadians (72%) tend to withdraw less than $30,000 from their RRSPs, with most withdrawing $5,000 to $15,000 (27%) or less than $5,000 (27%).

In the event investors withdraw money from their RRSP, those who participate in the government backed Lifelong Learning Plan or Home Buyers’ Plan are required to pay back the money or face interest charges. The poll found that one in five of these individuals do not plan to repay the money, despite the penalties involved.

Looking at the asset mix of Canadians’ retirement investments, the study found that mutual funds (57%) continue to be the investment of choice for RRSP savings, with GICs (30%) and stocks (26%) as the next most popular portfolio holdings.

Decima Research conducted this online poll on behalf of Scotiabank between November 23rd and December 7th, 2005. Results are based on a randomly selected sample of 2,021 English and French speaking Canadian adults aged 18+. A random probability sample of this size delivers results with a statistical margin of error of 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error will be larger within subgroupings of the survey sample. Data have been weighted to reflect a representation of the gender, age and regional distribution in Canada.