Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP)

An RDSP is a registered account designed to help Canadians with disabilities save for the future. It’s one of the most generous government programs available, but also one of the least known. If the beneficiary qualifies for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), the federal government will contribute matching grants and bonds, sometimes adding thousands of dollars a year.

Government contributions

The Canada Disability Savings Grant matches your contributions up to 300%, depending on the beneficiary’s family income. That means for every dollar you put in, the government could add up to three dollars. The maximum annual grant is $3,500, with a lifetime limit of $70,000.

The Canada Disability Savings Bond is for lower-income beneficiaries and requires no personal contribution at all. The government deposits up to $1,000 per year, with a lifetime limit of $20,000.

Key rules

Anyone can contribute to an RDSP (family, friends, the beneficiary themselves). There’s no annual contribution limit, but the lifetime maximum is $200,000. Contributions are not tax-deductible, but the investments grow tax-deferred. The account must be opened before the beneficiary turns 60.

Withdrawals have specific rules. Government grants and bonds must stay in the account for at least 10 years, or they may need to be repaid. This makes the RDSP best suited for long-term savings.

Why it matters

For eligible Canadians, the RDSP is one of the best savings vehicles available, purely because of the government matching. Even modest annual contributions can grow significantly over time. For a full breakdown, see our RDSP guide.

A concrete example

Say you contribute $1,500 per year to an RDSP for a lower-income beneficiary. The government adds a 300% matching grant of $3,500 (the annual maximum) plus a $1,000 bond. That’s $4,500 in free government money on top of your $1,500 contribution. After 10 years of this, you’ve put in $15,000 and the government has added $45,000. Combined with investment growth inside the account, the total could be well over $80,000.