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Individual development account

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• Definition
• Open an account
• Save into an account
• Maximum amount

Since January 1, 2006, you can, under certain conditions, be entitled to a new exemption in the calculation of your liquid assets. This exemption allows you to deposit certain amounts earmarked for a specific project into an account at a financial institution.

Definition

An individual development account, it’s an account opened at a financial institution whose accrued amounts ($5,000 maximum) must be used exclusively for carrying out a specific project that involves one or more of the following:

• acquiring training recognized by the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport;
• purchasing tools or equipment necessary to hold employment;
• creating self-employment or starting up a business;
• purchasing or repairing a residence;
• purchasing an automobile;
• providing for training of a dependent child.

You can save up for more than one of the above projects. The individual development account may be:

• a savings account
• a term deposit
• an investment.

For all options, the account must be clearly identified as an individual development account. These amounts may be built up gradually or deposited in bigger quantities, for example, a gift or an inheritance.

Open an account

• Any adult who is a last-resort financial assistance recipient.
• Claim slip holders, provided they open the account while they are last-resort financial assistance recipients. An individual development account can be registered under the name of one adult only.
  

Save into an account

There are two options: an individual savings plan or an institutional savings plan.

• Individual savings plan
  With an individual savings plan, only the employmentassistance recipient deposits amounts into the account.
• Institutional savings plan
  With an institutional savings plan, an organization contributes financially to the account savings of a recipient, who pledges to deposit amounts into the account.

Maximum amount

You can accumulate up to $5000. In the case of a family made up of two adult recipients, each recipient can contribute up to $5000. Dependent children cannot have an individual development account opened under their name.