CRA requires separating a retiring allowance into an eligible and non-eligible portion. The eligible portion is the maximum that can be transferred to an RRSP/RPP under the special rules (without using regular RRSP room). The formula is: $2,000 for each year (or part-year) of service before 1996, plus an additional $1,500 for each year (or part-year) before 1989 in which the employee had no employer pension/DPSP benefit vested at the time of payment (or previously paid).

Rosa worked from 1983 to 1995 (inclusive) for pre-1996 service: 13 years × $2,000 = $26,000.

For the extra pre-1989 amount: she joined the pension plan in 1986 and was fully vested when paid the retiring allowance in 2015, so 1986–1988 do not qualify for the extra $1,500. However, 1983–1985 were years before 1989 when she had no vested employer pension benefit, so 3 years × $1,500 = $4,500.

Eligible portion = $26,000 + $4,500 = $30,500.

Non-eligible portion = $62,500 − $30,500 = $32,000.