Registered Disability Savings Plan
Introduction to the RDSP
The Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) is a long-term savings plan to help Canadians with disabilities and their families save for the future. If you have an RDSP, you may also be eligible for grants and bonds to help with your long-term savings.
You should consider opening an RDSP if you have a long-term disability and are:
- eligible for the Disability Tax Credit;
- under the age of 60 (if you are 59, you must apply before the end of the calendar year in which you turned 59);
- a Canadian resident with a Social Insurance Number (SIN); and
- looking for a long-term savings plan.
You may contribute any amount to your RDSP each year, up to the lifetime contribution limit of $200,000. With written permission from the RDSP holder, anyone may contribute to the RDSP.
RDSP Savings Calculator
The RDSP Savings Calculator will help you anticipate how money contributed to your RDSP could grow over time by calculating the estimated amount of Grant and Bond you could receive, based on contributions and annual family income, as well as the amount of interest accumulated.
Registered Disability Savings Plan – Module 1: Start Saving for the Future
The video describes who can open an RDSP and benefit from it and who can make contributions, helping Canadians living with disabilities and their families become more financially secure.
Transcript
Dan: Do you have a disability? Do you have a child with a disability?
Jessie: Then you should know about the Registered Disability Savings Plan, or RDSP.
Dan: It’s a federal government program that helps Canadians with disabilities…
Jessie: … and their families…
Dan: … to save for the future.
You can contribute as much as you want to a Registered Disability Savings Plan each year, up to a lifetime limit of $200,000. The earnings from the Plan build tax-free until taken out of the plan.
Jessie: You can open an RDSP at participating financial institutions, such as a bank or credit union.
Dan: And you can open an RDSP at any time until December 31 of the year that the beneficiary turns 59. The beneficiary is the person who will be receiving money from the plan.
Jessie: Anyone can put money into an RDSP if they have permission from the person who manages the plan. Adults usually manage their own plan. A parent can manage their child’s RDSP.
Dan: Having an RDSP does not affect your federal benefits, but you should contact your provincial or territorial government to make sure other benefits are not affected.
Jessie: To learn more about the Registered Disability Savings Plan, watch the full series of RDSP online videos.
Dan: For detailed information, such as a list of participating financial institutions or eligibility criteria, visit www.esdc.gc.ca/disabilitysavings.
Jessie: Or call 1 800 O-Canada, that’s 1-800-622-6232.
Dan: If you use a teletypewriter, call 1-800-926-9105.
Jessie: Good job dad!
Dan: Alright!
Jessie: Yeah!
Dan: Nice!
Registered Disability Savings Plan – Module 2: Grants and Bonds to Make Your Savings Grow
The federal government can help increase the savings of eligible Canadians by contributing to their RDSP through:
- a Canada Disability Savings Grant
- a Canada Disability Savings Bond
- allowing money to be moved from some retirement and education savings plans.
Transcript
Dan: The Registered Disability Savings Plan, the RDSP, is a way for Canadians with disabilities…
Jessie: … and their families…
Dan: … to save for the future.
One of the great things about it is that the Government of Canada can help increase your savings by contributing money to your plan.
Jessie: When you open an RDSP, ask your financial institution about the Canada Disability Savings Grant and the Canada Disability Savings Bond.
Dan: The Grant is money that the Government contributes to your RDSP, up to a lifetime limit of $70,000, to match the money you put into the plan,
The Bond is money that the Government contributes to the RDSPs of people with low incomes.
A beneficiary who qualifies for the Bond can receive up to $20,000 in their lifetime. You don’t even have to put money of your own into the plan to qualify for the Bond!
Jessie: The amount of the Grant or Bond depends on the beneficiary’s family income.
Dan: Family income means the beneficiary’s personal income beginning the year they turn 19, plus the income from their spouse.
If you have just opened an RDSP and missed out on grants and bonds that you could have had in the past, don’t worry!
Jessie: The Government can still add these grants…
Dan: … and bonds to your plan.
Depending on your family income, you could get over $10,000 in grants and up to $11,000 in bonds added to your plan in one year.
The Grant and the Bond can really help your savings grow.
It’s important to know that the Government will only pay the Grant and the Bond into the plan until December 31…
Jessie: … of the year the beneficiary turns 49.
So the sooner you open a plan, the more you can benefit!
Dan: Also, the Government can help your RDSP grow even more by allowing money from some retirement and education savings plans to be moved into your Registered Disability Savings Plan. Ask your financial institution for more information.
Jessie: To learn more about the Registered Disability Savings Plan, watch the full series of RDSP online videos.
Dan: For detailed information, such as a list of participating financial institutions or eligibility criteria, visit www.esdc.gc.ca/disabilitysavings.
Jessie: Or call 1 800 O-Canada, that’s 1-800-622-6232.
Dan: If you use a teletypewriter, call 1-800-926-9105.
Registered Disability Savings Plan – Module 3: Taking Money Out
An RDSP is a long-term savings plan which has specific conditions about taking money out. This video explains who can withdraw funds and when they can be withdrawn. It also tells you what happens when there are changes regarding a beneficiary.
Transcript
Dan: The Registered Disability Savings Plan, the RDSP, is a long-term savings plan created by the federal government that helps Canadians with disabilities…
Jessie: … and their families…
Dan: … to prepare for the future.
Here are a few things to remember when it’s time to start taking money out of an RDSP.
Only the person who manages the RDSP is allowed to take money out of the plan.
Jessie: And all withdrawals must be used only for the beneficiary—the person eligible to receive money from the plan.
Dan: You can take money out at any time, but you can’t wait indefinitely. Withdrawals must begin before December 31…
Jessie: … of the year that the beneficiary turns 60.
Dan: Remember: the plan is for long-term savings. If you take money out when any of the grants and the bonds have been in for less than 10 years, you will have to pay some, or all, of the grant and the bond money back to the Government.
For instance, all grants and bonds that have been in the plan for less than 10 years must be paid back to the Government if:
- the plan is closed; or
- the beneficiary dies; or
- the beneficiary no longer qualifies for the Disability Tax Credit.
Jessie: To learn more about the Registered Disability Savings Plan, watch the full series of RDSP online videos.
Dan: For detailed information, such as a list of participating financial institutions or eligibility criteria, visit www.esdc.gc.ca/disabilitysavings.
Jessie: Or call 1 800 O-Canada, that’s 1-800-622-6232.
Dan: If you use a teletypewriter, call 1-800-926-9105.
Accessible RDSP video
The Registered Disability Savings Plan, Canada Disability Savings Grant and Canada Disability Savings Bond video can be viewed in American Sign Language, in langue des signes québécoise and through closed captioning. It is also available through voice narration.
Transcript
(A woman is standing in front of a black backdrop communicating in American Sign Language.)
I'm pleased to tell you about a federal government program to help Canadians with disabilities and their families save for the future.
It's the Registered Disability Savings Plan or RDSP.
Who should consider opening an RDSP?
Well, you are eligible if you have a long-term disability and are:
- under the age of 60;
- a Canadian resident with a Social Insurance Number;
- eligible for the Disability Tax Credit; and
- looking for a long-term savings plan.
To encourage savings, the Government of Canada pays a matching grant of up to 300 percent, depending on the amount contributed and your family income.
That means the government will pay up to $3,500 a year in grants, with a limit of $70,000 over the beneficiary's lifetime.
For Canadians with low and modest incomes, the government also pays a bond of up to $1,000 a year, with a limit of $20,000 over the beneficiary's lifetime. No contributions are needed to receive the Bond.
Grants and bonds are paid until the year the beneficiary turns 49.
Grants and bonds are intended to encourage long-term savings. They must remain in the RDSP for at least 10 years.
The plan holder, or anyone with written permission from the plan holder, can contribute to an RDSP. There is no annual contribution limit, but there is a lifetime contribution limit of $200,000. And, until you take money out of the plan, your earnings accumulate tax-free.
That's good news for your financial security!
To learn more, I invite you to browse www.disabilitysavings.gc.ca. TTY users can contact 1-800-926-9105.
This website contains a list of financial organizations that offer the RDSP, the Grant and the Bond.
The RDSP is part of our government's commitment to help Canadians with disabilities save for the future.
Thank you.
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