Registered Disability Savings Plan Online Calculator

Vancouver, BC - Canada is the first country in the world to offer a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) to assist families in securing the future for a son or daughter with a severe disability.  This new financial product becomes available on December 1st, 2008.  Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN), the organization that proposed and researched the RDSP, has just created an online calculator to assist families in determining the best approach towards the plan and the matching Federal Grants and Bonds.

PLAN's new online RDSP Calculator is now available at www.plan.ca or www.rdsp.com.  The calculator will help Canadian families project the estimated future value of an RDSP, and will help determine how it can enhance the quality of life for a family member with a disability.  "The RDSP allows our sons and daughters to acquire savings, removes them from poverty level, and brings them closer to achieving a better life - a good life," commented Susan Whittaker, chairperson of PLAN's board.  "The RDSP Calculator is a wonderful tool to help families take the best advantage of the RDSP's capabilities."

By answering a few simple questions, the calculator will determine the amount of Grant and Bond a person is eligible for, and the value of future payments.  For example, a family with a nine year old disabled child decides to invest $500 per year for 20 years into an RDSP plan.  The RDSP Calculator determines that by the time the child is 39 years old, this $10,000 investment would provide $571,372 in payments between the ages of 39 and 83 (using a potential growth rate of 5.5%).  In another scenario, if the same family invests $1,500 per year, the calculator estimates that the RDSP would provide $1,282,623 in payments between the ages of 39 and 83.  A printable summary of any scenario entered is available.

Canada's RDSP is a new tool for individuals with disabilities and their families to save for the future.  It is now common for people with disabilities to outlive their parents.  Canada's Federal government has acknowledged this by establishing a Disability Savings Plan that will assist as many as 700,000 Canadian families in providing financial security for their son or daughter with a disability.  For more information on the RDSP, visit PLAN's dedicated website, www.rdsp.com. There, you will find the most extensive and up-to-date information on the RDSP for families across the country.

Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN) is a non-profit social enterprise established by and for families committed to assuring the safety, security and well-being of our relatives with a disability.  PLAN provides information, assistance and support; facilitates social networks so people will not be alone when their parents pass away; and advocates for changes in laws to make it easier for families to secure a good life for their relatives with disabilities.  For more information on PLAN, visit www.plan.ca

Contact:  Doug Brodhead, PLAN Assistant Director of Social Policy
Tel: 604-439-9566
Email: dbrodhead@plan.ca
Website:  www.plan.ca or www.rdsp.com