ODSP & RDSP Services that Clash ?

The Ontario Disability Support Program ( ODSP ) and the Registered Disability Savings Plan ( RDSP ) seem to be contradictory to each other.

What is an ODSP? The on-line resources say:

ODSP income support helps people with disabilities who are in financial need pay for living expenses like food and housing. It also provides health benefits like drug and dental coverage.

ODSP is a program of last resort.

Thus the person with a disability must have little or no income from a job or any other area. For many disabled folks in Ontario, it is their only real income (and it is not that much).

We have seen that the RDSP is a long-term savings program for the disabled. How does it affect the ODSP program? I had heard a few different interpretations, so I asked my MPP Lisa MacLeod to investigate, and her office received the following from the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Opinion is as follows:

An RDSP is fully exempt under social assistance as income and assets, and does not impact eligibility for ODSP income support. All funds held in RDSPs are exempt when assessing eligibility for ODSP.  There is no maximum applied to this exemption, although the federal government limits RDSP contributions at $200,000.

ODSP recipients can also make unlimited withdrawals from their RDSPs, and these withdrawals will not affect their financial eligibility for ODSP or the amount of income support if they are spent in the month withdrawn.  Voluntary contributions to an RDSP from family, community groups or others will not affect a personâ€s financial eligibility for ODSP or the amount of income support provided.

Is it Worthwhile Having an RDSP?

An RDSP cannot be used to supplement income. Any money withdrawn will need to be used within a month or that income will lower the ODSP payments to the disabled person. Any money withdrawn from an RDSP would be a short-term or one-time cost.

Given how little income the ODSP pays, any RDSP opened would most likely receive a CDSB (Canadian Disability Savings Bond) of $1000 a year. This suggests it is worthwhile opening an RDSP even if no money was available to deposit into the account. The RDSP beneficiary will not have their ODSP penalized for the RDSP.

How do they withdraw money from their RDSP without penalties? I will be writing about this very soon.

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