BMO Financial Group Monday announced the availability of the Quebec Education Savings Incentive (QESI) to Quebec residents who hold BMO Registered Education Savings Plan accounts.

Introduced by the provincial government as an incentive for Quebec families to start saving for their loved one’s post-secondary education, the QESI includes contributions made by Revenu Québec of up to 10% of net annual contributions paid into an RESP, up to a maximum of $250 per year. QESI also offers an additional incentive of up to $50 per year for low income families, which is added to the basic amount.

The QESI has a lifetime limit of $3,600 per beneficiary, and in order to qualify, one must be a resident of Quebec on December 31 of that taxation year.

BMO will automatically apply for QESI contributions on behalf of existing clients who have made RESP contributions since February 2007, when the incentive was launched.

The QESI will initially be available to BMO Investments Inc. customers only. Clients of BMO Nesbitt Burns and BMO InvestorLine will be advised in the near future as to how they can take advantage of the program.