New savings tool for people with disabilities
By Aaron Broverman • Bankrate.com

Grants are also available to those whose income is above the threshold but only at a one-to-one for the first $1,000. Both scenarios allow for a lifetime grant contribution of $70,000.

A disability bond is also being created to let those who can't afford to make a contribution take advantage of the government's money-matching policy. If you have an annual income below $21,287, you will receive a bond of $1,000 every year just for opening an RDSP.

"Even if you only put in $150 in the year, you can still leverage $1,600 in the RDSP if you're in the right income bracket," says Doug Brodhead, assistant director of public policy for Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network, or PLAN, a nonprofit organization created by families committed to securing a prosperous future for their relatives with disabilities.

Your grant and bond eligibility is determined by your family's net-adjusted income until you turn the age of majority, then it switches over to your own. "A lot of disabled people live with their families as adults, but the RDSP will count what they have, not what their family has, making them eligible in most cases for both the grant and the bond," says Brodhead. The bond has a lifetime contribution limit of $20,000.

The RDSP has a lifetime contribution limit of $200,000, not including the $70,000 grant limit or the $20,000 bond limit.

Signing up
Eligibility for the RDSP is dependent on whether you receive the Disability Tax Credit, which requires having a disability lasting at least a year that requires life-sustaining therapy and markedly restricts at least two basic functions of living such as walking, speaking, feeding and dressing.

After filling out a T2201 form, any disabled person (or relative) can walk into a participating bank and open an account. Parents can open RDSPs for their kids, becoming co-holders once their children turn 18. Noncompetent adults can have their RDSP managed by a guardian, trustee or representative.