If you would like easy to understand information on the new Registered Disability Savings Plan please visit www.rdsp.com.
In the last few days I have received upwards of 30 e-mails requesting information on when the federal government Grant and Bonds will be deposited into people’s RDSPs. It sounds like a lot of people are pretty worried that although they deposited money into their RDSP before the March 2, 2009 deadline, they might not get their 2008 Grant and Bond.
The Good News – this does not mean that you won’t receive your Grant and Bond for 2008.
So why is this taking so long for you to receive your Grant and Bond into the plan, and will this be usual? Currently the federal government has the systems in place to administer the Grant and Bond every month to financial institutions. In fact, the Government has already been paying Grants and Bonds to many individuals with RDSPs. But, in order to transfer payments to financial institutions both the federal government and the financial institution must have their electronic systems that allow them to exchange financial transactions and receive payments fully functional, otherwise the transfer won’t occur.
From what we have heard, the various financial institutions offering the RDSP are still in different stages of development of their electronic systems. This was caused by the fairly rapid introduction of the RDSP as a Registered Plan in Canada, and the significant money and time investment for financial institutions to set up these systems.
Officially, financial institutions offering RDSPs can submit requests for 2008 and 2009 Grant and Bonds until June 30th, 2010. This does not mean you can contribute to your RDSP before June 30th, 2010, and receive the 2008 Grant and Bond, it is simply a provision that was put in place to allow financial institutions the time to set up the appropriate systems while still being able to set up RDSPs for Canadians.
So, does this mean that you won’t get your Grant and Bond for 2008 and 2009 deposited into your RDSP?
No, not necessarily. Financial institutions have until June 30th, 2010 to request the 2008 and 2009 Grant and Bond, but most will likely begin requesting Grants and Bonds much sooner. We have heard that some financial institutions are telling their clients that they will be up and ready to request and exchange transactions and payments sometime in September, while others are already receiving them. If you are interested in knowing when you might receive your Grant and Bond, you can always ask your bank when they expect to be ready.