Families not taking advantage of free money for education

Low-income families in WindsorEssex are leaving $40 million in free money on the table, because few are even aware of a program that provides up to $2,000 per child for college and university.

The Canada Learning Bond is a “really exciting but little-known federal government benefit,” that only 31 per cent of eligible local children are accessing, Downtown Mission of Windsor director of advocacy and outreach Adam Vasey said Wednesday, after he addressed the city’s social development, health and culture standing committee.

Vasey is reaching out to many other organizations across the community, hoping to get the word out about the program that was introduced in 2004 as a way for lowincome families to set money aside for their children’s post-secondary education. Up to now, there’s been very little uptake on the program, Vasey said. Locally, about 20,000 kids who are eligible aren’t taking advantage.

“And it’s completely free money,” he said.

As of March 31, only 9,073 local children out of a possible 29,214 had accessed the Canada Learning Bond, according to data provided at smartsaver.org.

To be eligible, a family has to have an annual income less than about $46,000 and they have to set up a registered education savings plan for each child. But that can be done for free and the family doesn’t have to contribute a single dollar of their own money, Vasey said. In the first year of enrolment, a child receives $500, deposited into the RESP, then $100 is deposited every subsequent year, from age zero to 15. The money can also arrive retroactively. So even if the child is 13 today, he or she can end up receiving the entire $2,000.

That money has to be used for post-secondary education, which is a significant contributor in helping a young person leave poverty.

“Part of the problem is a lot of people don’t think post-secondary is attainable, but research has shown that even a modest amount of savings can dramatically increase a child’s chances of graduating high school and attending post-secondary,” said Vassey.

He added that when you look at the families that take up the Canada Learning Bond, 98 per cent of them end up contributing some of their own money into the RESP.

“That just shows it’s an incentive, and even $20 a month can make a huge impact.”

The mission has set up a website at to help families access the Canada Learning Bond.

Vasey said there are some barriers that hinder a family enrolling, including a lack of engagement with banks and other financial institutions, the belief that you need money to start an RESP and language barriers. He’s hoping to get the help of other organizations to overcome these barriers.

“My goal is to have every organization that has any connection to eligible families and children understands this program and is aware of it.”