For the first $500 you invest in your RDSP each year, the government will match each dollar with $3. For the next $1,000 that you contribute, the government will match each dollar with $2 in grant money. Anyone – family, friends, neighbours – can make private contributions to the plan.

If a person is living on low income (less than $24,183), then they are eligible to receive the Canada Disability Savings Bond. This is an additional $1,000 each year, for up to 20 years. Partial bonds are available for people with an income between $24,183 and $41,544. 

A person can put in more than $1,500 per year if they want – up to $200,000 in their lifetime. The federal government will contribute up to $70,000 in grant money over a person’s lifetime.

The “holdback period,” means a person cannot withdraw money until ten years after the last federal contribution. 

If the federal government contributed more to your RDSP than you (and your family and friends) did, then there is a limit to how much money you can withdraw each year: the money in your RDSP divided by the number of years before you turn 83.

Also, using the DTC or RDSP will not affect your federal or provincial disability benefits!