Halloween is over, but many Canadians remain spooked about adding to their RRSPs this season.

If any of your clients fall into that category, you can help by reminding them that contributing regularly to RRSPs and other savings programs — regardless of market turbulence — is crucial to achieving financial security in retirement.

As Investment Executive discusses in this year’s special report on RRSPs (see the Building Your Business section), careful planning is even more important for the growing number of singles in Canada, as well for boomers heading into retirement loaded with debt.

You can make it a point to remind equities-averse clients that they can bypass the stock market and put money into treasury bills, bonds and cash, all eligible RRSP investments. Or they can stick with equities, so they will be in the market for the turnaround. But they should look beyond current market conditions and think long-term.

That’s assuming, of course, an RRSP is the best option for your clients. Some might be better served by the new tax-free savings account, which launches Jan. 1, 2009.

“Advisors have a new wrinkle to deal with this RRSP season,” says Jamie Golombek, managing director of tax and estate planning for CIBC Private Wealth Management in Toronto. “We certainly know that many Canadians are not maximizing their RRSPs every year, which seems to suggest that after mortgages and debt, they have very little free money.

“The advisor can add tremendous value,” he adds, “by sitting down and working through the math of the RRSP vs the TFSA.”

The two key factors are liquidity and frequency of use, Golombek says. A client needing ready access to his or her savings may choose the TFSA. From a tax-break perspective, if a client’s retirement tax rate will be identical to his or her current one, it doesn’t matter if a TFSA or RRSP is chosen, he says. If the retirement tax rate will be lower, the client may want to choose the RRSP. IE