Bank of Nova Scotia and TD Waterhouse have joined BMO Bank of Montreal, CIBC, Les fonds d’investissement FMOQ inc. and Royal Bank of Canada in offering the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) to eligible Canadians, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue announced Monday.

Blackburn also encouraged eligible Canadians to take advantage of the savings offered by the RDSP as soon as possible.

“The more financial institutions across the country that offer the RDSP, the more choices Canadians with disabilities and their families will have,” stated Blackburn, thanking the institutions already offering the RDSP.

The RDSP is a tax-assisted savings plan administered by the Canada Revenue Agency in partnership with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. It is intended to help Canadians with disabilities and their families save for the future. Canadian residents under age 60 who are eligible for the disability tax credit can open an RDSP. Parents or guardians may open an RDSP for a minor. With written permission from the plan holder, anyone can contribute to the RDSP.

To encourage savings, the federal government pays a matching Canada Disability Savings Grant of up to $3,500 a year on contributions made into an RDSP. Ottawa will also pay a Canada Disability Savings Bond of up to $1,000 a year into the RDSP of low and modest-income Canadians. No contributions are necessary to receive the bond. The deadline for making contributions in 2010 is Dec. 31, 2010.

More than 20,000 RDSPs have been opened since the program was launched in December 2008. Since RDSPs became available, the federal government has paid over $70 million in grants and bonds to Canadians with disabilities and their families.

IE