Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning, 2025

Released: 2026-02-20

In 2025, nearly three-quarters (71%) of parents and guardians of children under 18 years of age in Canada were saving for their children's postsecondary education through registered or other savings vehicles. This is up slightly from 2020 (69%).

These results are from the 2025 Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning, which gathered information from parents and guardians on the strategies they use to prepare for their children's postsecondary education, their plans for financing schooling and the barriers to saving for higher education.

More parents use a registered education savings plan

Among children younger than 18 years with postsecondary education savings, approximately 89% had a registered education savings plan (RESP) in 2025, up from 85% in 2020.

While RESPs were the most common method of saving in 2025, bank accounts in the child's name or in-trust accounts (used by 28% of parents) and tax-free savings accounts (28%) were also popular. Other less commonly used methods included mutual funds (14%), registered retirement savings plans (12%), registered disability savings plans (3%) and other types of investments (11%).

Over half (51%) of parents who were not saving for their children's postsecondary education reported planning to start later. Parents' most common reasons for not saving were that all available funds go toward day-to-day expenses (54%), they prefer to pay education costs when the time comes (33%) and they want to pay off debt first (27%).

In addition to postsecondary education savings, parents also planned to support their children in other ways. Indeed, 64% of parents indicated that they would help their children pay for postsecondary education once they begin, and 27% indicated that they plan to help them repay all or part of a student loan. The majority (59%) also plan to offer free room and board—often by continuing to support their children at home—or the use of a car. Meanwhile, 17% plan to take out loans when the time comes.

Parental education and income are reflected in postsecondary savings patterns

Less than half (44%) of the children whose parents had a high school diploma or less had savings set aside for their postsecondary education in 2025. This proportion increased to 65% among children whose parents had a trades certificate or college diploma and to 79% among children whose parents had a university degree.

Household income was also associated with postsecondary education savings. In 2025, 91% of children in families in the highest income quintile had savings set aside, compared with 52% of children in families in the lowest income quintile.

These differences highlight the role of parental education and household income in shaping families' capacity to save for postsecondary education. Future iterations of the Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning will be able to shed further light on how the relationship between household income and postsecondary education savings evolves over time.

Chart 1 
Percentage of children under 18 with postsecondary education savings, by household income quintile, 2025

Contact information

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