Opening an RDSP

How do you open an RDSP?

To open an RDSP, a person who qualifies to be a holder of the plan must contact a participating financial institution that offers RDSPs. These financial institutions are known as issuers.

Note The plan holder is the person who opens the RDSP and makes or authorizes contributions on behalf of the beneficiary.

Who can open an RDSP?

If the beneficiary has reached the age of majority and is legally able to enter into a contract, then an RDSP can be established for such a beneficiary by the beneficiary and/or the legal parent who is, at the time the plan is established, a holder of a pre-existing RDSP of the beneficiary.

If the beneficiary is a minor, another person can open an RDSP for the beneficiary and become a holder if that person is:

• a legal parent of the beneficiary;
• a guardian, tutor, or curator of the beneficiary, or an individual who is legally authorized to act for the beneficiary; or
• a public department, agency, or institution that is legally authorized to act for the beneficiary.

Can the holder of an RDSP be changed?

When a plan is opened by a beneficiary's legal parent(s), the legal parent(s) can continue as holder(s) of the plan after the beneficiary reaches the age of majority. When the beneficiary becomes an adult and is legally able to enter into a contract, the beneficiary can be added to the RDSP as a joint holder if he or she so wishes. In all other cases, the beneficiary is the only one who can be a holder of the plan once he or she has reached the age of majority and is legally able to enter into a contract. If a plan is opened by somebody other than the beneficiary or the beneficiary's legal parent(s), that person or body must be removed as a holder of the plan when the beneficiary reaches the age of majority.

An individual who is eligible to be a beneficiary of an RDSP (but for whom a plan has not yet been established) may have reached the age of majority but may not be legally able to enter into a contract because of a mental impairment. If so, another qualified person can open an RDSP for the individual and become a holder. A qualified person is:

• a guardian, tutor, or curator of the beneficiary, or an individual who is legally authorized to act for the beneficiary; or
• a public department, agency, or institution that is legally authorized to act for the beneficiary.

A legal parent can open a plan for a beneficiary who has reached the age of majority and is not legally able to enter into a contract because of a mental impairment when the plan is opened as a result of a transfer from another RDSP that the parent is a holder of. Also, a legal parent of a beneficiary who has reached the age of majority and is not legally able to enter into a contract because of a mental impairment can open a plan for the beneficiary, as long as the legal parent is legally authorized to act on the beneficiary's behalf.

A holder who is not the beneficiary of the plan does not have to be a resident of Canada but must have a valid SIN or business number (for public institutions, departments and, agencies) to establish the plan.

If the guardian, tutor, public department, or any other qualified individual or body is no longer qualified to be a holder (for example they are no longer the legal guardian or have died), they must be removed from the plan as holder. In such a case, the following can be added to the plan as a holder's successor or assignee:

• the beneficiary;
• the beneficiary's estate;
• any other person or body who is already a holder (for example, two legal parents enter into an RDSP contract together and one parent passes away; the other parent would receive the deceased parent's rights and become the sole holder of the plan);
• any other person or body who is qualified to be a holder; or
• a legal parent of the beneficiary who had previously been a holder of the plan.