大约二十年前，当迈克·莱克（Mike Lake）还是一位面容稚嫩的保守党议员、且是10岁男孩杰登（Jaden）的父亲时，他意识到自己或许能够为残疾人士及其照顾家庭的财务未来提供支持。当时，他恰好身处一个在相同时期有着相同想法的执政党中。
It was when he was a fresh-faced Conservative MP nearly two decades ago — and father to 10-year-old Jaden — that Mike Lake realized he could be in a position to bolster the financial futures of those with disabilities and the families who cared for them. And he happened to be in a governing party thinking the same way, at the same time.
“我们的财政部长、[已故的]吉姆·弗拉赫蒂（Jim Flaherty）有三个孩子，是三胞胎，其中一个儿子患有智力残疾，”莱克在接受加拿大广播公司电台（CBC Radio）采访时表示，“因此，在2007年的预算案中，残疾人储蓄计划（RDSP）便出现在其中——并在随后的预算案中延续。”注册残疾人储蓄计划应运而生，这是一项免税储蓄工具，其中包括渥太华提供的最高达7万加元的补助金和最高达2万加元的债券。
“Our finance minister, [the late] Jim Flaherty, had three kids, triplets, and one of his sons had an intellectual disability,” Lake told CBC Radio. “So, in the 2007 budget, the RDSP showed up in that — and in subsequent budgets.”The Registered Disability Savings Plan, a tax-free savings vehicle that includes grants of up to $70,000 and bonds of up to $20,000 from Ottawa, was born.
莱克在最近的一次采访中谈到他如今已成年的儿子（其在童年时期被诊断出患有自闭症）时说：“就我儿子而言，他喜欢工作。杰登现在虽然没有从事有薪工作，但这些可能性——结合残疾人储蓄计划，确实创造了一个让杰登能够蓬勃发展并过上自己想要的生活的环境。”然而，该计划的普及率却很低。
“In my son's case, he likes to work,” Lake said in a recent interview about his now-adult son, who was diagnosed with autism as a child. “Jaden's not in paid employment right now, but the potential of those things — in combination with the RDSP, really does create an environment where Jaden will be able to thrive and live the life he wants." But the plan has had poor uptake.
根据加拿大统计局2024年的一项调查，只有约34%符合资格的人开立了该账户。与此同时，其他注册储蓄计划——如免税储蓄账户（TFSA）或注册退休储蓄计划（RRSP）——的使用率大约为68%的符合条件的加拿大人。
Only about 34 per cent of those who qualify for it have opened one, according to a 2024 investigation by Statistics Canada. Meanwhile, other registered savings plans — like the Tax-Free Savings Account or RRSPs — are being used by roughly 68 per cent of eligible Canadians.
符合残疾税收抵免（DTC）条件的人同样符合残疾人储蓄计划的资格，但加拿大税收观察所（The Canadian Tax Observatory）4月份的一份报告发现，针对该群体推出的各项计划的普及率不到50%——并且还在下降。
Those who qualify for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) also qualify for the RDSP, but a report from April by The Canadian Tax Observatory found the take-up rate for the various programs available to that cohort less than 50 per cent — and declining.
吉尔·蒂普尔（Jill Teeple）作为残疾人及其家庭的投资顾问和财务规划师工作了近二十年，她指出了该计划面临的两大持续存在的障碍。
After spending close to two decades working as an investment adviser and financial planner for people with disabilities and their families, Jill Teeple has identified two consistent barriers to the program.
她说，最大的障碍是人们不知道它的存在，尽管联邦政府已经开始向那些已经获批残疾税收抵免（即获得资格的途径）的人发送传单。
The biggest: people don’t know it exists, she said, though the federal government has started sending leaflets to those already approved for the Disability Tax Credit, the gateway to eligibility.
身为非营利组织加拿大包容协会（Inclusion Canada）副主席的蒂普尔说：“你的金融机构，还有，你知道的，也许还有你所在省份和地区的残疾人收入支持计划，都没有告诉你。”“因此，我们存在着这个知识鸿沟。”
“Your financial institutions and, you know, maybe your provincial and territorial income support program for people with disabilities, they're not telling you,” said Teeple, the vice-president of non-profit Inclusion Canada. “So we have this knowledge gap.”
直到最近，也只有五大银行和少数几家本地信用社或财富管理公司提供残疾人储蓄计划账户，这主要是因为该计划需要进行大量的检查与平衡——对于较小的企业来说，这在财务上可能并不划算。
Until recently, only the Big Five banks and a handful of local credit unions or wealth management firms offered RDSP accounts, largely because there are a lot of checks and balances required for them — and, for smaller ventures, it may not have made financial sense.
例如，他们必须监督某人是否仍然符合残疾税收抵免的资格，正如蒂普尔所说，其他投资工具对于银行和客户来说要简单得多。
For example, they have to monitor whether someone still qualifies for a Disability Tax Credit, whereas as Teeple says, other investment vehicles are a lot more straightforward, both for the bank and the customer.
此外还有第二个障碍：在申请税收抵免时要克服医疗和官僚主义方面的阻碍。
And there’s the secondary hurdle: navigating the medical and bureaucratic obstacles of applying for the tax credit.
作为医疗流程的一部分，你必须与一位愿意完成一份16页问卷的临床医生面谈，以确定是否符合资格，该问卷涵盖了10类身体和认知残疾。
As part of the medical process, you’ll have to meet with a clinician willing to go through a 16-page questionnaire to determine eligibility, which encompasses 10 categories of physical and cognitive disabilities.
蒂普尔说：“许多家庭或残疾人并不能马上符合条件，所以你必须再次尝试。”
“Lots of families or people with disabilities don't qualify right away, so you have to try again,” Teeple said.
在存在预计不会好转的严重残疾的情况下，人们会被授予终身资格。但平均而言，人们会在获得4到6年的资格后被迫重新申请。
In cases where there is a significant disability that is not expected to improve, people are given lifetime eligibility. But on average, people are given between four to six years before having to reapply.
蒂普尔说，这对外地申请者来说可能是一个挑战，她指出，当残疾税收抵免于1988年设立时，加拿大人并没有面临当今的医生短缺问题。她说：“我们与家庭医生的关系完全不同。”
That can be a challenge for applicants, Teeple said, noting that when the Disability Tax Credit was created in 1988, Canadians were not facing the doctor shortage of today. “We had an entirely different relationship to our family doctor,” she said.
初创企业的一个机遇 直到最近，申请者还不得不依靠残疾人权利组织、理财规划师和医生的协助，但初创企业正开始进入这一领域。
An opportunity for startups Until recently, applicants had to rely on disability rights organizations, financial planners and doctors for assistance, but startups are starting to enter the picture.
事实上，有两家金融科技公司不提供除残疾人储蓄计划支持之外的任何其他服务。其中一家是蒙特利尔的泰瑞（Terry）。
In fact, there are two fintech companies that provide no other services aside from RDSP support. One is Montreal’s Terry.
联合创始人米歇尔-亚历山大·里恩多（Michel-Alexandre Riendeau）表示，这个想法是在疫情期间萌生的，当时人们被迫依赖在线支持。
Co-founder Michel-Alexandre Riendeau said the idea emerged during the pandemic, when people were forced to rely on online support.
他说：“正是在这个时候，残疾人储蓄计划项目真正进入了我的脑海，因为挨家挨户地去帮助该省乃至全加拿大的所有残疾人，在物理上是不可能的。因此，我认为这种向在线的转变确实使我们能够帮助更多的人。”他指出，理解残疾人储蓄计划的运作方式以及谁有资格获得补助可能会令人困惑——尤其是对初次投资的投资者而言。
“This is when the RDSP project really came into mind, because it's physically impossible to be able to go door-to-door and help all the people with disabilities around the province, around Canada.” he said. “So I think this online shift really enabled us to be able to help more people.”Understanding how the RDSP works, and who qualifies for grants, can be confusing — especially for first-time investors, he notes.
残疾人储蓄计划向49岁以下患有残疾（无论是显性还是隐性）的人提供匹配补助金，不过人们可以继续向该计划投资，直到他们年满59岁的那个历年结束，或者累计缴费达到20万加元，以先到者为准。
The RDSP provides the matching grants to those under the age of 49 with a disability — be it visible or invisible, though people can continue to invest in the plan until the end of the calendar year they turn 59 or have made $200,000 in contributions, whichever comes first.
里恩多建议符合条件的客户开立残疾人储蓄计划，即使他们目前没有能力缴费。
Riendeau advises eligible clients to open an RDSP, even if they are not in a position to contribute right now.
他说：“在我们的客户中，有超过90%的人是第一次投资。当他们拿到一封很难理解的信时，你是无法立刻说服他们的。”但在某些情况下，那些正在努力追赶、且个人或家庭收入较低的人，将在10年内获得可观的政府补助金额。正如里恩多所言，那些最需要帮助的人，“只要开立账户甚至不用缴费，就能获得1万加元”，前提是他们获得残疾税收抵免已经有一段时间且尚未开立账户。
“Over 90 per cent of our clientele, it's their first investment,” he said. “When they get a letter that's really complicated to understand, you're not going to convince them right away." But in some cases, those who are playing catch-up — and have a lower personal or family income — will receive a substantial amount in government contributions over a 10-year period. As Riendeau put it, those who need the most help, “they can get $10,000 just by opening up the account and not even contributing,” provided they have had the disability tax credit for some time and not opened an account.
他指出，越早越好：他每天都会看到一些人，因为年龄太大而无法开立残疾人储蓄计划，并为此感到后悔，希望自己能早点办。
And sooner is better, he notes: every day, he sees people who are too old to open an RDSP and wish they did sooner.