ReachableThe RDSP: up to $1,000 a year, even if you never save a dollar
The Registered Disability Savings Plan is the most-missed money in Canada. If you have the Disability Tax Credit and a low income, the government pays into it every year whether or not you put anything in.
Checked on 3 September 2026
At a glance
- What you get
- A bond of up to $1,000 a year with no deposit of your own, up to $20,000 in your lifetime. If you can save, a grant that matches up to $3 for every $1 you put in.
- Who it is for
- Anyone approved for the Disability Tax Credit who lives in Canada, has a Social Insurance Number, and is under 60.
- What it costs
- Nothing. Opening a plan is free, and the bond needs no money from you.
- How long it takes
- About an hour at a bank once you have the Disability Tax Credit. The grant arrives 6 to 8 weeks after a deposit.
- You need this first
- The Disability Tax Credit. Read our guide to the Disability Tax Credit.
What an RDSP is
A Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) is a long-term savings account for a person with a disability. You open it at a bank or credit union, the same way you would open any account.
What makes it different is that the federal government puts money into it in two ways:
- The Canada Disability Savings Bond — money for people with low or modest incomes. You do not have to deposit anything to get it.
- The Canada Disability Savings Grant — the government matches money that you, your family, or a friend put in.
Money in the plan grows without being taxed until it is taken out. The person the plan is for is called the beneficiary.
Good news
If your income is low, the bond alone is worth $1,000 every year for 20 years — $20,000 — and it costs you nothing but the paperwork to open the plan.
The bond: free money, no deposit
The bond is decided by family income from two years earlier. For 2026, that means your 2024 tax return.
| Family income (2024) | Bond you get this year |
|---|---|
| $38,237 or less | $1,000 |
| Between $38,237 and $58,523 | Part of the $1,000, getting smaller as income rises |
| $58,523 or more | No bond |
The lifetime limit for the bond is $20,000. "Family income" means the beneficiary's own income (plus a spouse's) from the year they turn 19 onward. Before that, it means the parents' income.
The grant: matched savings
The grant only arrives if money is deposited. How much depends on income:
| Family income (2024) | What the government adds | Most you can get in a year |
|---|---|---|
| $117,045 or less | $3 for every $1 on your first $500, then $2 for every $1 on the next $1,000 | $3,500 — reached by depositing $1,500 |
| More than $117,045 | $1 for every $1 on your first $1,000 | $1,000 |
The lifetime grant limit is $70,000. Deposits above the matched amount still go into the plan, but they earn no grant. The lifetime deposit limit is $200,000.
The number worth remembering
At a low income, depositing $1,500 in a year brings in $3,500 of grant plus $1,000 of bond. That is $4,500 of government money on $1,500 of your own.
Claiming up to 10 past years
This is the part almost nobody is told about.
If you qualified for the Disability Tax Credit in past years but had no RDSP, or had one and did not deposit, that unpaid bond and grant does not disappear. You can still claim up to 10 years of it.
- Past bond is paid out automatically once the plan is open and the past tax returns are filed.
- Past grant is paid when you deposit, and is capped at $10,500 in any one year.
Someone who has had the Disability Tax Credit for a decade at a low income may have close to $10,000 of unclaimed bond waiting. Ask your bank specifically about "carry-forward" — that is the word they use.
Who qualifies
The beneficiary must:
- be approved for the Disability Tax Credit,
- live in Canada,
- have a Social Insurance Number, and
- open the plan before 31 December of the year they turn 59.
An adult can open their own plan. A parent or legal representative opens it for a child, or for an adult who cannot manage a plan themselves. Each person may have only one RDSP.
Bond and grant are paid until 31 December of the year the beneficiary turns 49. After that the plan keeps growing, but no new government money goes in.
How to open one, step by step
- Get the Disability Tax Credit first. Nothing else can happen until it is approved. Our Disability Tax Credit guide walks through it.
- Make sure you have a Social Insurance Number and have filed tax returns for the last two years. The bond and grant are worked out from those returns, so an unfiled return means no bond. Free tax clinics in Victoria can file past years for you.
- Pick a bank or credit union that offers RDSPs. The government publishes the list. It includes BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, TD, Desjardins, ATB and Central 1 credit unions in BC. You do not need to already be a customer.
- Open the plan and sign the grant and bond application at the same time. They are two separate forms and the second one is the one that brings the money. Do not leave without signing it.
- Ask about carry-forward for past years, in those words, before you leave.
- Deposit what you can, if you can. The bond arrives on its own each year. Only the grant needs a deposit.
What to say at the bank
"I'd like to open a Registered Disability Savings Plan. I'm approved for the Disability Tax Credit. I also want to apply for the Canada Disability Savings Bond and Grant, and I want to ask about carry-forward for past years."
Why people miss this
- "I have no money to save." The bond needs no deposit at all. This is the single biggest reason the money goes unclaimed.
- Taxes were never filed. With no return, the income test cannot be done and no bond is paid. Filing past years fixes it, and free clinics will do it.
- A branch staff member has never opened one and says the bank does not offer it. They usually do. Call the bank's central RDSP line from the government's list instead of arguing at the counter.
- Fear it will cut disability assistance. See the next section.
- The Disability Tax Credit lapsed. Approvals expire. If yours ran out, the plan has special rules — call the program at 1-866-204-0357.
Does it affect my disability assistance?
This is the question we get most, and it deserves a careful answer.
People on BC disability assistance often avoid the RDSP because they are afraid savings will reduce their monthly cheque. Before you decide either way, ask BC directly how RDSP savings and withdrawals are treated, and get the answer for your own situation.
Two free places will walk through it with you, and neither will try to sell you anything:
- Disability Alliance BC — advocates who work with these two systems together every day.
- The Access RDSP helpline run by Plan Institute — see below.
Do not take a bank teller's word on how a provincial benefit works. That is not their job and they are often wrong about it.
Where to get help in Victoria
Canada Disability Savings Program (Service Canada) — questions about the bond, grant and carry-forward
- Victoria Disability Resource Centre, 817A Fort Street — information and referral for disability benefits. 250-595-0044
- Disability Alliance BC — free help with the Disability Tax Credit and the RDSP.
- Access RDSP / Plan Institute — a helpline that exists specifically to get people through this process.
- 211 — dial 211 any time for other options near you.
Or call the Reachable Line and we will look it up with you, out loud, at your pace.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page comes from a government page we read on the date shown. Amounts change, usually each January. If you are reading this long after the date at the top, phone the number above and check.
- Employment and Social Development Canada, Registered Disability Savings Plan: canada.ca — RDSP (read 1 September 2026)
- How much you could get in grants and bonds (2026 income thresholds): canada.ca — how much (read 1 September 2026)
- Who can become a beneficiary and how to apply: canada.ca — apply (read 1 September 2026)
- How to open a plan, including the list of banks and credit unions: canada.ca — open a plan (read 1 September 2026)
- Contact the Canada Disability Savings Program: canada.ca — contact (read 1 September 2026)
- Victoria Disability Resource Centre: drcvictoria.com (read 1 September 2026)
Reachable is not a bank, a lawyer, or the government. This guide explains public programs in plain language so you can go and claim them. It is not financial advice about your own situation.