Question Period Note: Survey on Savings for Persons with Disabilities

A Statistics Canada survey released on April 1, 2022 shows that almost half of eligible individuals who had not opened a Registered Disability Savings Plan had never heard of the program. Among respondents who were aware of the program, a lack of information or money to save were the main reasons for not opening a plan.

• No government has ever done more to help Canadians with disabilities than this government.

• Registered Disability Savings Plans are an integral component to ensuring the financial security of persons with disabilities.

• Take up of RDSPs is growing over time and this survey data will help us target those who need our help the most to take advantage.
• We have committed to releasing Canada’s first ever Disabilities Inclusion Action Plan, which will be the most ambitious and meaningful approach ever to transforming the lives of Canadians with disabilities.

• Continuing to increase take up is a key element of that Plan

The Canada Disability Savings Program (CDSP), which comprises the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), and the Canada Disability Savings Bond (CDSB) and Grant (CDSG), was introduced in December 2008 to encourage long-term savings to support the financial security of persons with severe and prolonged disabilities and their families.

As of the end of December 2021, RDSP assets were worth more than $8.49 billion. Since implementation of the program, 237,619 registered plans have been opened, into which the Government has made statutory payments through the Consolidated Revenue Fund in the amount of $3.36 billion in Grants and $1.41 billion in Bonds.

Though steady growth in demand has occurred since 2008, a large percentage of residents in Canada approved for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) and under age 49, have not opened an RDSP. ESDC in collaboration with Statistics Canada, committed to investigate why eligible persons had not opened an RDSP through a survey, entitled, “Survey on Savings for Persons with Disabilities” (Survey). From October 19 to November 30, 2021, data was collected from a pre-determined target population sample that had been identified by using 2019 and 2020 T1 (tax data) from the Canada Revenue Agency of eligible individuals who had not opened an RDSP as of 2018.

The SSPD collected data on demographics, knowledge about RDSPs, reasons for not opening a plan, and savings. The April 1, 2022 publication of the Daily highlights several key findings from the SSPD. Most importantly, residents in Canada eligible for the RDSP, lack information about the savings program, with many respondents not even aware that it exists, and a substantial portion having indicated they did not have enough information or money to open a plan. Of those eligible who had heard of the RDSP, most had learned about RDSPs through government documentation, followed by friends or relatives, and financial advisors/ institutions. Of particular note, survey respondents with household incomes less than $20K, those with lower levels of education, and those who identified as Indigenous were less likely to know or have heard about RDSPs.

These findings along with additional efforts should help inform future program improvements, including how to raise awareness and increase uptake. CDSP currently develops promotional materials, supports the annual distribution of letters to individuals who have been DTC approved but who have not opened an RDSP, as well as annual Statements of Entitlement for the CDSB, and through information sessions, engages with persons with disabilities and their families and support networks.

None