Is preventing the charge of fees against the holdback amount good policy?
The Canada Disability Savings Regulations (4)(f) stipulate that financial institutions cannot charge fees related to the Registered Disability Savings Plan against the assistance holdback amount of the RDSP. While this provision seems innocuous, it has a huge impact on...
Financial Security (for your relative with a disability)
…the first in a series to promote Financial Literacy 27% of non-retired Canadians don’t commit to any type of savings, not even for retirement 4 in 10 Canadians don’t feel confident they’ll have enough money in retirement – from Hennessy’s...
Delays in the Payment of Grant or Bond?
A detailed overview of most common problems which delay Canada Disability Saving Grant or Bond payments and steps to take to remedy the situation.
RDSP versus Trust: Scenario 2 (Janis)
One of the most common questions that we get is, “Should I put my money in an RDSP or a Trust?” The answer is invariably, “It depends.” This scenario explore the options when a 46 year old woman inherits...
How Income Tax Provisions on RDSP Income may Affect Canada’s Newest—yet Landless—Band: The Qalipu Mi’kmaq of Newfoundland – by Joel Crocker
When payments are withdrawn from an RDSP, they are considered to contain private contributions, government contributions and investment income in the same proportions as within the RDSP. Two of these, the government contributions and investment income, are taxable upon...
Should the holdback amount deter you from opening an RDSP?
I have spoken to people who seem willing to walk away from more than $40,000, even when no personal investment is necessary: this is the situation when one receives the Canada Disability Savings Bond only into an RDSP and...
U.S. citizens living in Canada|Canadian citizens living in U.S.
We have had several questions recently relating to citizenship and residency and the Registered Disability Savings Plan (“RDSP”). As you may have heard in the media recently, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is paying more attention to Americans...
RDSP #1 Barrier: The 10-Year Rule
From December 2008 to December 2010, Canadians opened 41,060 RDSP’s, which represents only 9% of the eligible population. So why have the existing 91% of Canadians not accessed the RDSP? Throughout the summer, we’ve been discussing the possible barriers...
RDSP #2: RDSP Government Contribution (Grants & Bonds) Age Limit
The age limit to receive a RDSP grant and/or bond was indentified by families as the second most challenging barrier to the RDSP. Individuals with an RDSP don’t qualify for the government grants or bonds if they are over 49...
RDSP Barrier #3: Emergency Withdrawals
Throughout our “Top Ten RDSP Barriers” series, we often compare the RDSP to similar savings vehicles such as RRSP’s or RESP’s. For the most part, this comparison serves us well and exposes the inequities between disability and non-disability related...