A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) provides for the future post-secondary education of a beneficiary.

A Subscriber and/or joint Subscriber (must be the spouse or common law partner of the Subscriber) make deposits into the RESP on behalf of a Beneficiary for the use by the Beneficiary for post-secondary education.

A Subscriber may also be an agency, institution or department that is responsible for the care of a Beneficiary.

In 1998, the federal government introduced the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) which is a grant paid into an RESP.  In 2007, the federal government increased the payment of the CESG to 20% on the first $2,500 (from $2,000) in annual contributions up to a maximum of $500 (from $400) per year per Beneficiary.