{"id":645260,"date":"2026-08-19T10:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/645260\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T10:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:30:13","slug":"dale-jackson-quebec-firm-targets-billions-of-unclaimed-dollars-in-federal-disability-retirement-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/645260\/","title":{"rendered":"Dale Jackson: Quebec firm targets billions of unclaimed dollars in Federal disability retirement plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of the 311,000 active registered disability savings plans (RDSP) started since the program\u2019s inception in 2008<\/a>, $3.3 billion in contributions have been matched by Ottawa with $5.1 billion in grants and $2.1 billion in bonds.<\/p>\n

Still, two-thirds of the government funds set aside to help Canadians with disabilities save for retirement go unclaimed, according to the latest tally from Statistics Canada.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s only financial firm that deals exclusively in RDSPs wants to change that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go to your local bank, they usually don\u2019t even know it exists,\u201d says Michel-Alexandre Riendeau, CEO of Montreal-based Terry Capital Inc. <\/p>\n

With $100 million under management in Quebec, the company has just been licensed to provide RDSPs in Ontario, Alberta and B.C. under the domain name rdsp.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main mission for us is to educate people,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

What is an RDSP?<\/b><\/p>\n

Anyone who is approved for a disability tax credit (DTC) can have a registered disability savings plan to invest and save for the long-term.<\/p>\n

Depending on family income, every $1 contribution could be matched by $3 in federal government grants. Grants can total up to $3,500 each year to $70,000.<\/p>\n

In comparison, Ottawa matches registered education savings plans (RESPs) with a grant of up to 20 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe amount is incredible. We\u2019re talking up to 300 per cent in grant money compared to an RESP,\u201d says Riendeau. <\/p>\n

Contributions can be made until the end of the year in which the beneficiary turns 59 and not taxed when they are withdrawn. However, the government portion, investment income earned in the plan, and proceeds from rollovers are taxed in the hands of the beneficiary when withdrawn.<\/p>\n

Plan holders must wait 10 years after their last contribution to make a withdrawal. <\/p>\n

Hypothetically, an RDSP opened at 20 years of age can grow for 15 years and provide the holder income at 45 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people with disabilities won\u2019t be able to work, or work as much, so the RDSP is their only way out,\u201d says Riendeau, who adds that many Canadians with disabilities and their families under-estimate the unique long-term financial challenges and rising costs. <\/p>\n

\u201dA lot of our clients hope to get some private care later on, not just the government assistance, which isn\u2019t always the best,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Terry Capital has partnered with Mackenzie Financial to provide mutual fund investment portfolios tailored for an RDSP.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver 10 to 30 years the grants and bonds and everything together can grow very quickly,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The firm is compensated by Mackenzie through annual mutual fund management fees generally between one per cent and 2.5 per cent of the amount invested.<\/p>\n

Making an RDSP a family affair<\/b><\/p>\n

Hutch Theriault from Gatineau, PQ opened an RDSP for his son, Ryker, in 2023 on the advice of his doctor.<\/p>\n

Ryker is a typical 16-year-old who likes cross-fit, fishing, water skiing and gaming but suffers from Type 1 diabetes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping it can be a good nest-egg for him in case there is a cure somewhere in the world. He\u2019ll have money to possibly pay for it privately if the government can\u2019t cover it,\u201d says Theriault.<\/p>\n

Ryker\u2019s treatment currently includes costs beyond provincial insurance and sometimes requires up front expenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of medication, the pump and accessories that come with monitoring diabetes, is quite expensive. If he doesn\u2019t have insurance when he\u2019s an adult, he\u2019s going to need this kind of money to be able to sustain his life,\u201d he says, adding that doesn\u2019t even consider future funding for drugs. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have insurance now. How expensive is insulin going to be going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Theriault also worries about whether Ryker\u2019s future health might restrict his ability to earn a living.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe might be limited to the kind of employment he might get,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Hope for a secure retirement<\/b><\/p>\n

Wren Hicks from Montreal contributed to a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) while working in customer service until attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and a chronic spine condition made it impossible to hold a full-time job. <\/p>\n

She opened an RDSP in 2022 and has since been diagnosed with complications relating to long COVID and is on permanent disability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t even know an RDSP existed. I was told about it from a friend of a friend who worked with people with disabilities,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Hicks says her RRSP savings would have never covered her financial needs, but tax rules permit the funds to be rolled into an RDSP as contributions. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s wild because there is so much money I could have had access to,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

At 37, she says the RDSP allows her to hope for a secure retirement she otherwise might not have had.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like this vague idea of not having to worry about money, but it\u2019s so far away,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Of the 311,000 active registered disability savings plans (RDSP) started since the program\u2019s inception in 2008, $3.3 billion…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":645261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[177],"tags":[24970,10471,79,95839,3731,2817,179,18,27127,19,17,825,18416,234,235,3888,25514],"class_list":["post-645260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-bill","tag-budget","tag-business","tag-canadian","tag-cash","tag-currency","tag-economy","tag-eire","tag-hand","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-money","tag-pay","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-savings","tag-spend"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117121713877075673","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=645260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/645261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}