Investing · Book
The Forty-Year Plan
The Whitfields · Investing
Open Owen's RDSP early, max the grant, capture the bond, and let a multi-decade horizon do the heavy lifting.
Chapters
Open It Early
The single most powerful move is opening Owen's RDSP while he's small. Time is the part the family can never buy back.
The Government Matches You
The Canada Disability Savings Grant matches RDSP contributions, and matches lower-income families most generously, up to annual and lifetime caps.
Money for Nothing
The Canada Disability Savings Bond pays into a low-income beneficiary's plan with no contribution required. The Whitfields open the RDSP regardless.
Catching Up
Unused grant and bond entitlement carries forward. A single larger contribution can reclaim several past years of match at once.
A Forty-Year Horizon
With four decades to grow, Owen's RDSP can hold growth investments, kept low cost and left alone to ride out everything in between.
RESP or RDSP?
An RESP assumes school; the RDSP assumes a life. For a child who may not pursue post-secondary, the Whitfields weigh which assumption fits Owen.
Moving the Money Over
If post-secondary never happens, RESP investment growth can roll into the RDSP under conditions. The bet isn't all-or-nothing.
The Family's Other Buckets
The RDSP is for Owen's lifetime; a TFSA stays flexible and in the parents' hands. The Whitfields use both, on purpose.
The Ten-Year Rule
The RDSP rewards a long horizon. Money pulled out early can claw back a decade of government help through the assistance holdback.
The Machine Is Running
The RDSP is open, funded, invested, and capturing every dollar of match. The last job is making sure it survives the parents, leading to the estate plan.