Program directory · Employment and Social Development Canada
Canada Disability Savings Program
- Department
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Program code
- BGN02 (HRSD)
- Core responsibility
- Pensions and Benefits
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Canada Disability Savings Program (CDSP) is intended to encourage long-term savings for persons with disabilities who are eligible for the Disability Tax Credit.
The CDSP includes the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), the Canada Disability Savings Grant, and the Canada Disability Savings Bond.
Once an RDSP is opened, beneficiaries may be eligible for grant and bond. Grant and bond amounts paid to beneficiaries vary based on income and how much is contributed to the RDSP. The maximum yearly grant amount is $3,500, with a lifetime limit of $70,000, and the maximum yearly bond amount is $1,000, with a lifetime limit of $20,000.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Disability Savings Program | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $4.44B |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Employees (FTEs) 26, against 56 in 2023-24 (−54%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Spending $866M, against $691M in 2023-24 (+25%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators added: Total number of active registered plans | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: Total number of registered plans since the inception of the program | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 201,712 | 2018 | 184,648 Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) take-up has been steadily increasing since the implementation of the program. However, the take-up rate increase slowed down in 2017 (compared to 2016), which contributed to the 2018 target not being met. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 209,195 | 2020 | 201,858 Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) take-up has been steadily increasing since the implementation of the program. However, the take-up rate increase slowed down in 2018 (compared to 2017), which contributed to the 2019 target not being met. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 263,104 | 2021 | 219,524 Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) take-up has been steadily increasing since the implementation of the program. The take-up rate slowed down in 2020-2021 (compared to 2019-2020) possibly for several reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic: pandemic restrictions that limited the program’s ability to conduct in-person outreach activities; persons with disabilities making fewer visits to fi… | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 236,766 | 2022 | 243,000 As of March 31, 2022, 243,000 RDSPs were registered (active at that time). This figure does not include those plans that were opened and subsequently closed in advance of this date. Since the inception of the program in 2008, the Government of Canada has paid a total of $3.64 billion in grants and $1.6 billion in bonds into RDSP accounts. The total value of assets held in RDSPs was $8.59 billion… | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 255,130 | 2023 | 284,688 The result includes beneficiaries who have had a registered plan any time since the Government of Canada introduced the program in December 2008, including plans that are no longer open. The result is somewhat higher than the target, as the target refers only to the number of plans that were expected to be open at the end of the year. | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 296,000 | 2024 | 309,000 | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 326,000 | 2025 | 338,000 Approximately 24,000 new plans were opened in 2024-25. This was an above average growth year influenced by more persons with disabilities obtaining Disability Tax Credit certificates and subsequently opening RDSPs. | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 350,000 | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $672M | $516M |
| 2019-20 | $770M | $511M |
| 2020-21 | $883M | $549M |
| 2021-22 | $691M | $660M |
| 2022-23 | $694M | $650M |
| 2023-24 | $900M | $691M |
| 2024-25 | $732M | $866M |
| 2025-26 | $745M | — |
| 2026-27 | $867M | — |
| 2027-28 | $894M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $910M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 26 | 11 |
| 2019-20 | 26 | 24 |
| 2020-21 | 26 | 26 |
| 2021-22 | 22 | 41 |
| 2022-23 | 22 | 47 |
| 2023-24 | 22 | 56 |
| 2024-25 | 22 | 26 |
| 2025-26 | 22 | — |
| 2026-27 | 21 | — |
| 2027-28 | 21* | — |
| 2028-29 | 21* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $671,810,903 | $754,356,903 | $838,649,903 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $770,371,387 | $870,171,387 | $976,271,387 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $882,620,360 | $990,014,722 | $1,103,611,673 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $691,409,695 | $742,008,590 | $792,607,493 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $693,684,110 | $739,765,323 | $785,846,537 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $900,097,560 | $929,933,877 | $940,588,626 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $732,212,835 | $731,972,172 | $724,664,719 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $745,022,790 | $763,061,887 | $781,101,887 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $867,048,995 | $894,124,827 | $910,308,482 | ||||||||
| Actual | $515,909,479 | $511,285,540 | $549,428,300 | $659,856,526 | $650,156,533 | $691,058,025 | $866,263,463 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
