You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Uncategorized' category.
Starting this morning, RBC began offering RDSPs to Canadians from across the country. If you would like to view more information on RBC’s launch of the RDSP you can visit www.rbc.com/rdsp, or the french equivalent www.rbc.com/reei.
RBC will be offering the RDSP through their RBC Advisors who you can set up an appointment with by calling 1-800-463-3863.
Remember, if you want to benefit from the 2008 Grant and Bond, make sure to set up your RDSP and contribute before March 2, 2009. On December 23rd, 2008, the Federal Government announced that they would provide an extension to receive the 2008 Grant and Bond due to the shortened timeframe and limited number of financial institutions offering the plan.
Here is the application form from RBC if you want to take a look. You will need to fill part of this out with the RBC Advisor.
rdsp-application__writable-pdf-3
We will keep updating the blog as soon as other financial institutions come on board!
We at PLAN would like to wish you and your families all the best for 2009.
Looking back… 2008 was year of many accoplishments for us. We are pleased that our many years of work have paid off:
- the RDSP is now available to people with disabilities and families across Canada
- most provinces have made the RDSP an exempt asset for the purposed of determining eligibility for disability benefits
- most provinces have exempted income that people will receive from their RDSPs so that they will not be penalized when they receive payments from their plans
- the federal goverment has extended the dead line for 2008 contributions to March 2, 2009.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have assisted us in 2008. Without your support we would not have been successful.
Looking forward… our goal is to make sure that the 500,000 families who have relatives that qualify for the RDSP have good information. Families’ aspirations for a good life for their loved ones is our ultimate goal: nothing less will do.
We know that this is a bold vision but we think it is worth it. We also know that success will depend on our collaborative efforts. Here are a couple ways that you can help:
1. Spread the word about www.rdsp.com
We are on target for over 100,000 visits to this blog in 2009 – but we need to reach 500,ooo people. So we need your assistance. As you make your 2009 resolutions, we ask that one of them be to spread the word. If you have access to a website or blog, link it to www.rdsp.com. If you have family or friends who are working to secure a good life for a loved one with a disability, send them the link.
2. Make a charitable donation to PLAN
Time has run out for 2008 charitable contributions but its the perfect time to begin to plan for 2009. As a small, family-lead organization, PLAN’s effectiveness depends on our many friends and allies who support our work.
If you want more information about us, visit our website at www.plan.ca. If you decide to support our work, you can do so online at our PLAN donations page.
See you in 2009!
To find out about the RDSP, whether you qualify, and where you can sign up, visit www.rdsp.com .
Now that it looks like the Bank of Montreal will become the first national bank in Canada to offer the RDSP, and will most likely start offering RDSPs on December 22nd, many people are wondering whether their is any opportunity to receive the Grant and Bond retroactively (until June 2009). With the shortened time period (December 22nd to December 31st) to get your RDSP set up and your contributions in for 2008 (to leverage the 2008 Grant and Bond), this idea of the retroactive 2008 Grant and Bond has been proposed by a number of people interested in the RDSP.
So what is the likelihood?
From what we have heard, the likelihood is not that great (although, you never know). With the limited number of Financial Institutions offering the plan, and the desire of many people not to miss out on the 2008 Grant and Bond, it seems to make sense. Where it starts to get tricky is when we start to look at exactly what would need to happen in order for this type of change to occur. Allowing for a retroactive Grant and Bond would require a change in Regulations, which is not a quick or easy process and would require either pass through Cabinet or Ministerial amendment. Financial Institutions would also have to modify some of their systems to account for this change in policy. This is not to say that it won’t happen, but that it may be a longshot.
There have been some efforts to push for this retroactive Grant and Bond, and there still seems to be a little steam behind these initiatives, but for the time being you should assume that this retroactivity will not be available. We will make sure to track this discussion and update everyone as soon as we find out anything.
If you want more information on how to set up an RDSP with BMO you can call their BMO Investment Centre at 1-800-665-7700.
To find out about the RDSP, whether you qualify, and where you can sign up, visit www.rdsp.com .
As we follow the ongoing saga of the RDSP, I find it useful to provide some important tips for preparing to set up an RDSP and what you should be aware of when you do.
As we have mentioned before on this blog, and as is mentioned in far greater detail on www.rdsp.com, in order to be eligible for the RDSP you will have to follow 4 Key Steps. These Steps are:
1) Make sure you are eligible and apply for the Disability Tax Credit.
2) Have a valid Social Insurance Number.
3) File a 2006 and 2007 tax return (the amount of Grant and Bond will be determined by your income reported on your tax return from two years prior). If you want to receive a Grant and Bond for 2008, you will need to have filed your tax return for 2006.
4) If your setting up an RDSP for a child, make sure you apply for the Canada Child Tax Benefit.
With the only a few financial institutions likely to be ready to issue the RDSP in December (although we have heard there may be a national bank offering the RDSP before the end of the month), it will be essential that people are prepared. If you are planning to capitalize on the Grant and Bond for 2008 (I realize this is going to be pretty tight for most people), and a financial institution is able to offer you a plan, make sure you have that 2006 tax return filed.
To find out about the RDSP, whether you qualify, and where you can sign up, visit www.rdsp.com .
Guest post by Al Etmanski, President and Co-Founder of Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN)
And Now there are Two!
Only when difference has its home, when the need for belonging in all its murderous intensity has been assuaged, can our common identity begin to find its voice. - Michael Ignatieff – The Needs of Strangers
Canadians with disabilities and their families now have two political champions, Jim Flaherty and Michael Ignatieff. On the surface they are unlikely allies but in practice they share a profound understanding that Canada is strengthened when everyone participates, when everyone contributes, when everyone belongs.
We have been well served by Finance Minister Flaherty’s lived experience of the issues – he has a son with a disability. I have written elsewhere about the profound impact his masterpiece, the RDSP will have on the financial and social well being of people with disabilities and the peace of mind it brings to their families (see article).
I had personal experience of Minister Flaherty’s intuitive grasp of our issues at a recent global conference on Social Role Valorization the current expression of the philosophy of normalization. As I escorted him into the plenary session he asked what the conference was really about. I mentioned that normalization thinking had sparked a transformation in how we treat and support people with disabilities. How it had revealed the devastating effects of segregation and led to the integration, inclusion and acceptance of our sons and daughters. He nodded in deep recognition and proceeded to speak without notes for 10 minutes, revealing his grasp of how inspiration and new ways of thinking propel and inform change. He spoke from the heart, expressing gratitude for the audience’s role in creating a coherent framework for a more caring community focused on our common identity. His written speech, which is pretty good, Minister Flaherty Address. His actual speech was stirring and touched the audience’s heart.
Now the Canadian disability community has another champion – Michael Ignatieff, the new leader of the Opposition Liberal Party. I was introduced to Ignatieff through his first book, The Needs of Strangers (see excerpt). It remains a clarion call for rethinking how we care for each other. With passion and insight he sets a framework for our responsibility to the other, particularly the ‘strangers’ who live among us and for setting the conditions of ‘human flourishing’ for everyone. This wasn’t rhetoric – it was an impassioned exploration of the language of the good with the intention of returning philosophy to its proper place as a guide to being human.
I devoured his Booker nominated novel Scar Tissue about a mother in the final stages of dementia being cared for by her adult son. It contains eloquent and impassioned reflections on the essence of being human, what constitutes personhood, and about our deep connection with others– even when consciousness, awareness and capability may be in question.
In 2001 Sam Sullivan, former Mayor of Vancouver introduced me to him. Sam and I along with others had created a global dialogue on citizenship as seen through the experiences of people with disabilities (www.philia.ca ). Ignatieff proceeded to use some of our thinking in his Massey lecture series and its companion book, The Rights Revolution (see here). By then he was teaching at Harvard, so we invited him to a Dialogue on Citizenship and noted human rights activist, Catherine Frazee and an audience of five hundred at Ryerson (view here). I was impressed by his immersion in the topic, his preparation, his generosity (no speakers fee) and his curiosity. My lasting image is of him sitting cross-legged on the floor of a room at the Delta Chelsea after the event, among wheelchairs, guide dogs and an impressive cross section of disability leaders.
Jim Flaherty and Michael Ignatieff are not as different as we might expect. They may not describe it similarly but they both recognize our human fragility and seek to transform both our attitudes and our practices of caring. Perhaps it is through the doorway of disability where their and our political differences, in fact all our differences, will have their home – the place where we acknowledge our boundaries and then surpass them.
by Al Etmanski, President and Co-Founder of Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN)
The Registered Disability Savings Plan is now an official Canadian Registered Plan and can be issued by Financial institutions across Canada. The RDSP promises to be a life-changing future planning tool for hundreds of thousands of Canadians with a disability, and we are excited that this has become a reality. We see the RDSP as an opportunity for families and individuals across Canada to greatly increase their future financial security and quality of life.
Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN) is also excited to announce the launch of our new website www.rdsp.com . This website is the go-to website for any information relating to the RDSP, including financial updates, provincial treatments, details and analysis, stories, the new RDSP Calculator, and much more.
National and Provincial Update
The Provincial Governments of British Columbia, Newfoundland, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Yukon have all fully exempted the RDSP from affecting Disability Benefits as an asset or income. This is a very exciting development as it means that Canadians in all of these provinces will be able to fully benefit from the RDSP. Quebec and New Brunswick have exempted the RDSP as an asset, but only partially exempted the income coming out of the plan ($300 per month exempt – QB, and $800 a month – NB). Visit www.rdsp.com for more detail.
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories and Nunavut have yet to announce the treatment of the RDSP for those receiving Disability Benefits, but are expected to announce in the next few months. Keep checking this blog and our new website www.rdsp.com for updates on these provinces/territories.
Financial Update
Currently, Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (Quebec Federation of General Practitioners) is the only financial institution that has signed an agreement with the Federal Government to offer the RDSP. FMOQ has indicated that it will offer the RDSP to its members (general practitioners) and their patients, and anyone referred to them by financial institutions who do not offer the plan (Québec residents only). To learn more visit: http://www.fmoq.org/Accueil/Accueil/Index.aspx
Currently no other national or regional financial institutions are issuing the RDSP. A few other financial institutions are expected to be ready to issue the RDSP in the next few months. Please check www.rdsp.com or this blog for updates on financial institutions.
We would like to thank the Federal Government of Canada, the Provincial Governments who have come out in support of the RDSP, and the large number of people across Canada who have advocated and supported the plan throughout its development and implementation. We believe this plan has the potential to change lives of hundreds of thousands of people across Canada.
If you are interested in setting up an RDSP, visit www.rdsp.com for details on the plan, instructions on how to set up the plan and other helpful tools and links.
For ongoing updates and to support PLAN in our ongoing advocacy work, sign up for free and receive RDSP related materials and information at www.rdsp.com
Al Etmanski, Co-Founder and President of PLAN recently blogged on the potential and power of the RDSP to leverage people out of poverty. Here is a sample from his post:
“Fighting poverty by encouraging savings is now being championed by people inside and outside government around the world. Experts now acknowledge it is not sufficient to only provide monthly income support. They understand that saving and owning financial assets increases the opportunity for economic and social participation. There are many good books on this topic. One influential one is ‘Poverty and the Poor” by Michael Sherraden.
The new Registered Disability Savings Plan provides incentives for our sons and daughters to save. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be transferred from government directly to them. Combined with our financial support and compound interest this will result in billions of dollars directly available to them. No agencies, no intermediaries. This is a path out of poverty toward economic justice.
Some early critics have dismissed the RDSP as a tool for the rich. They ignore the struggles of middle income parents to provide some semblance of financial security for their loved ones. These critics also ignore the rich matching program of the Disability Savings Grant for lower income families and individuals and the precedent potential of the Canada Savings Bond.
Does it go far enough? Of course not. But it goes further than any other federal or provincial policy strategy to address the poverty of Canadians with disabilities in decades.
The Expert Panel’s report was called A New Beginning because they understood the RDSP was an important first step. It sets a world class anti poverty strategy in motion.
It is up to us to move the agenda to the next stage.”
To read the entire post visit:
http://planinstitute.ca/?q=blogs/aetmanski/new_rdsp_%E2%80%93_poverty_equity
PLAN is proud to announce the launch of the new online RDSP Calculator (Version 1.0).
Now available, this calculator helps you project the estimated future value of an RDSP, and will help determine how it can enhance the quality of life for your family member with a disability.
The new RDSP Calculator allows you to enter a variety of scenarios. Answer a few simple questions, and the RDSP Calculator will determine the amount of Grant and Bond you will be eligible for, the approximate growth of the RDSP plan and the value of future payments, and provide a printable summary of contributions.
Families can enter different data into the calculator – and create different scenarios – to help decide the best way to structure a Registered Disability Savings Plan for their son or daughter. The RDSP Calculator is available by clicking here (or the big red button).
Pass on the link to your friends and make sure you return to the site each time you want to use the calculator to ensure you have the most up-to-date version (we will be improving it based on feedback we receive).
If you experience any problems with the calculator please let us know as we will be updating the calculator on a regular basis.
We’d like to thank Simon Evans of Investors Group in White Rock for building the calculator.
Just answer a few simple questions and view the report!
Recent Comments