Saving for the Future

By Melissa Davis

People with disabilities are increasingly outliving their parents as a result of better health care and better access to care. As a result, many families are grappling with the question, “What will happen to our relatives with disabilities when we die?”

People with disabilities and families across Canada have been discussing the idea of a tax mechanism that would make saving for the future easier. PLAN, an organization that assists families in securing the future for their relatives with disabilities, has listened, and it leads the call for the creation of a Disability Savings Plan. It would work a lot like an RRSP, assisting families with saving to supplement their relatives’ income and supports in the future.

PLAN is consulting families, people with disabilities and disability organizations about the design of a Disability Savings Plan. Read more about it at www.plan.ca (follow the links to public policy and Disability Savings Plan). You’re invited to sign a petition in support of this initiative, and you can send your comments to jstyan@plan.ca.

PLAN Institute, which is affiliated with PLAN, is also pleased to announce the publication of The Company of Others: Stories of Belonging. This book, written by Sandra Shields with photography by David Campion, tells the stories of five vulnerable individuals who are surrounded by social “circles” – friends and family whose respect, encouragement and unconditional love gives them a sense of purpose and belonging. These stories will give hope to anyone who is or knows a person who, because of age, health or disability, has been excluded from having a full and meaningful life. This is not a book about helping those with disabilities, but a proposal for a better way of living together in any community. The Company of Others may be ordered through PLAN Institute’s website at www.planinstitute.ca for $24.95.