Organizational Information:

PLAN's mission is to help families secure the future for their relative with a disability and to provide peace of mind. This means ending isolation and loneliness, creating financial security, enabling everyone to make a contribution, ensuring choice, and creating genuine homes.

PLAN was founded by family members of people with disabilities to ensure safe and secure futures for their loved ones. A crucial aspect of long-term security is financial security. We support financial security through developing personal plans, providing information, resources and publications, conducting workshops on will, estate and financial planning, and most recently, by lobbying for and assisting in the design of the Registered Disability Savings Plan. PLAN is assisting families to take advantage of the RDSP through a financial literacy approach and providing first-to-know information around the RDSP. As well, we are deepening our work in support of homeownership to provide long-term security, choice and control over housing. Program Description:

Program goals are to support eligible families to understand and plan for the RDSP, and invest monies in order to reach the life goals of their relative with a disability. Activities include:

in-person workshops throughout BC on financial planning, wills & estates, trusts and the RDSP.
weekly Canada-wide RDSP tele-learning to inform, discuss and answer questions.
an RDSP blog, up-to-date RDSP website, produces policy papers and informational supplements for families.
PLAN publishes Safe & Secure, a planning guide for families in BC.

In BC, eligible individuals can receive $150 to open an RDSP account. Depending on income, this can trigger the federal government grant and/or bond. The most common example is: $30,000 invested by families or individuals over a 25 year period, will trigger $90,000 in government grants and bonds. With a conservative interest rate, this will translate to around $500,000 in 30 years. The BC government has exempted the RDSP from asset and income restrictions. Individuals can spend the money on what ever they desire.

Target Participant Criteria

Any person in Canada who is eligible for the Disability Tax Credit.

Program Contact Information:

Name: Kristi Fairholm Mader
Phone: 604-439-9566
Email: kfmader@plan.ca
Website: www.plan.ca or www.rdsp.com

This website was produced with CEDTAP, Vancity, Bell Canada, and the Royal Bank of Canada.