Investments in Registered Disability Savings Plan (Canada)

[utaca]

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster with a pretty specific question about a little used Canadian investment vehicle: the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP).

A little background: My wife is a type 1 diabetic and is entitled to the Disability Tax Credit which, we recently learned, entitles her to open a RDSP. An RDSP is like an RESP - contributions are taxed but the money in the account is tax sheltered. There is some government matching as well as specific rules about withdrawals but what I'm really interested in is where should I open an RDSP account?

My wife and I have our regular investments (RRSP, TFSA, RESP for our kid and margin) in Questrade. The problem is that Questrade doesn't offer RDSP accounts. We have an upcoming appointment with TD Bank where I understand it is possible to open an RDSP in a self-directed investing account. However, it does not appear to offer commission-free ETF purchases like Questrade. iTrades also doesn't appear to offer RDSP accounts.

Anyway, I'm curious if anyone has experience with RDSPs. If so, where did you open an account and do you have any pointers?

Thanks very much.

[RichMoose]

TD is the only self-directed brokerage that offers RDSP accounts that I know of. The commissions should be very minimal for investing in any passive way. Although free is always better, I wouldn't worry too much about spending $10 a few times each year.

[utaca]

TD is the only self-directed brokerage that offers RDSP accounts that I know of. The commissions should be very minimal for investing in any passive way. Although free is always better, I wouldn't worry too much about spending $10 a few times each year.

Thanks for your response. I'm not super concerned about commissions but, as the man said, a millionaire is made ten bucks at a time!

[joonifloofeefloo]

Ours is at TD-Direct Investing, yep.
I do the Canadian Couch Potato ETF schtick over there.

I had assumed RBC Direct Investing would also offer RDSP, but I don't know.

[snacky]

I use TD for my kid's RDSP and it has been a bureaucratic nightmare to set up. They have screwed it up for a full year. I hope they do better for you.

[joonifloofeefloo]

I use TD for my kid's RDSP and it has been a bureaucratic nightmare to set up. They have screwed it up for a full year.

snacks, did you go TD or TD-DI?

It was just like that for me, too. IIRC, only about five months of bureaucratic nightmareness in our case, though. Issue #1: They kept putting a made-up account number on the document. They couldn't understand why a correct number would need to be written on it, or the difference between a correct and incorrect number. It was super weird. I couldn't make them stop repeating that error, for the life of me. Issue #2: The paper would stall at each desk. Calling once a week to ask them to move it to the next department seemed to help a lot.

OP, if you go with TD-Di, breathe deeply and keep going. Having the account set up somewhere IS worth it in the end.

[snacky]

I use TD for my kid's RDSP and it has been a bureaucratic nightmare to set up. They have screwed it up for a full year.

snacks, did you go TD or TD-DI?

It was just like that for me, too. IIRC, only about five months of bureaucratic nightmareness in our case, though. Issue #1: They kept putting a made-up account number on the document. They couldn't understand why a correct number would need to be written on it, or the difference between a correct and incorrect number. It was super weird. I couldn't make them stop repeating that error, for the life of me. Issue #2: The paper would stall at each desk. Calling once a week to ask them to move it to the next department seemed to help a lot.

OP, if you go with TD-Di, breathe deeply and keep going. Having the account set up somewhere IS worth it in the end.

The issue is that they have my name as both the account owner and the beneficiary. (The account is for my kid) I have called to correct this every month since February, and yet it is still wrong. Maybe if TD had some competition they could get their heads on straight. Then again, maybe not.

[joonifloofeefloo]

...I have called to correct this every month since February, and yet it is still wrong.

Yep, that.

Has anyone confirmed whether RBC-DI will hold RDSPs? They've been better on two counts than TD-DI, so I have different things at each.

[utaca]

...I have called to correct this every month since February, and yet it is still wrong.

Yep, that.

Has anyone confirmed whether RBC-DI will hold RDSPs? They've been better on two counts than TD-DI, so I have different things at each.

RBC's website says "An RBC RDSP can hold a variety of investments, including Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), mutual funds, portfolio solutions and savings deposits." So it doesn't sound like there's a direct investment option. Questrade should get on this! Although I suspect RDSPs are rarely used, even by people who are entitled to open one...

[joonifloofeefloo]

^ We'd need to confirm from RBC Direct Investing, though. RBC and RBC-DI are essentially separate, with different options from each other. Ditto TD vs TD-DI.