INVESTING
My two cents -- it is the rebalancing part (annual or by % of investment) of your portfolio, that is very important, once you decide on an allocation mix. So it doesn't matter as much what mix you choose, for your risk level, as long as you reset the mix to the %. That way you buy more CDN when the dollar is low, and more US when the CDN dollar is high. Likewise, you buy more of the index fund that is low, and less of the high... automatically... Works great over 10-15 year time periods.
A correction - you have your terms a bit mixed up.
DPSP Defferred Profit Sharing Plan -- you can't contribute to this, only employer. It is often to your RRSP amounts, and the employer can randomly choose how much to contribute each year, to a maximum, protecting your employer a bit more in low profit years.
DCPP - This is a set amount, into an RRSP fund, that is the % matching you indicated. You contribute an amount, and the employer contributes, based on a formula. Sometimes the employer portion is locked in, but usually that only applies to Pensions (defined BENEFIT) plans.
RRSP -- in addition, you can add additional monies to a company group plan or personal RRSP, up to your contribution limit.
Contribututing your 18% directly off your pay, and immediately paying less taxes with no big annual refund is a great way to do this. Many of us do not put that large refund all back into RRSP's, after all.
Most RRSP plans in Canada are vested immediately, or within 2 years of the employer contributions. For the DCPP, you can ask if there is any penalty to transfer $ out to your own RRSP set up at a brokerage, if you want more direct control of your money. I have much lower MERs in my personal RRSP than the Manulife accounts set by my employer, so I move out the money that I can every two years.
Lastly, if you are contributing to your RRSP limit of 18%, start building up that TFSA. In fact, if you just want a personal account to start investing with, set up a TFSA at your discount brokerage, leave the RRSP alone for now.
The tip with TFSA is to invest to NOT LOSE money... as you can not claim any capital losses there, but regular interest bearing bonds, etc. are not taxed. And of course, the TFSA is your FU account, your savings for large purchases, and your emergency fund...