Retirement planning guides for Canadians
36 guides covering CPP, OAS and GIS, RRSPs, TFSAs, RRIFs and pensions, withdrawal order and tax — each with worked examples calculated by our tools and dated official figures.
Planning basics
How much do you need to retire in Canada? Start with spending, not a magic number
A step-by-step way to estimate a Canadian retirement savings target: start from spending, subtract CPP and OAS, allow for tax, then size the gap.
Read →Inflation and retirement: which income keeps pace and which doesn't
How inflation erodes retirement income in Canada, why indexed CPP and OAS differ from many workplace pensions, and how a 2% or 3% assumption changes a plan.
Read →Longevity risk: planning for a retirement that lasts to 95 or beyond
What longevity risk means, how a longer planning horizon changes sustainable spending, and how lifetime income like CPP and OAS can act as a backstop.
Read →Monte Carlo retirement planning: what a success rate does and doesn't tell you
How Monte Carlo simulations test a retirement plan against hundreds of market paths, how to read success rates and percentile bands, and where their limits are.
Read →Building a retirement budget: essentials, extras and the tax in between
How to build a Canadian retirement budget: split essentials from flexible spending, allow for tax on RRSP and RRIF income, and test the budget against your savings.
Read →Retirement income in Canada: the layers that pay the bills
CPP, OAS, workplace pensions, RRSPs and RRIFs, TFSAs and non-registered savings: how each Canadian retirement income source works and how they fit together.
Read →Sequence of returns risk: why the order of good and bad years matters
Why market losses early in retirement can do more damage than the same losses later, with a hypothetical Saskatchewan retiree tested across 500 market paths.
Read →The 4% rule in Canada: a starting point, tested against Canadian rules
What the 4% withdrawal rule means, why CPP, OAS, RRIF minimums and Canadian taxes change the picture, and how a hypothetical $800,000 portfolio holds up.
Read →Canada Pension Plan
CPP at 60, 65 or 70: what changes and when it evens out
How starting CPP at 60, 65 or 70 changes the monthly amount, when a later start catches up in total, and the other factors that shape the timing decision.
Read →CPP enhancement explained: higher contributions, a larger future pension
What the CPP enhancement changed, how the 2026 first and second additional contributions work, who it affects most, and what a higher CPP estimate means for a plan.
Read →CPP pension sharing: how couples can rebalance their CPP income
How CPP pension sharing works for spouses and common-law partners, how it differs from pension income splitting, and a worked Manitoba tax example.
Read →CPP survivor benefits: what a surviving spouse or partner may receive
How the CPP survivor's pension and death benefit work in 2026, what changes when you already receive CPP, and how a surviving spouse's tax picture can shift.
Read →How CPP is calculated: from paycheque contributions to a monthly pension
How CPP contributions work in 2026, how your earnings history becomes a retirement pension, why few reach the maximum, and how start age changes the amount.
Read →OAS and GIS
Deferring OAS to 70: what the 36% increase means over a lifetime
How OAS deferral works, what the 0.6% monthly increase adds up to by 70, and how lifetime totals compare at different ages, with worked examples.
Read →The GIS for lower-income seniors: amounts, income limits and planning
What the GIS pays in late 2026, the income limits for singles and couples, how income is counted, and why RRIF and TFSA withdrawals affect it differently.
Read →The OAS clawback explained: how the recovery tax works in 2026
How the OAS recovery tax (clawback) works, the 2024–2026 income thresholds, the 15% rate, and a worked Alberta example with lifetime totals.
Read →Partial OAS for people who came to Canada as adults
How partial OAS is calculated from years in Canada after 18, the 10- and 40-year rules, worked examples, and what to check about deferral and agreements.
Read →RRSP, TFSA, RRIF and pensions
Commuted value or monthly pension: how to weigh a lump sum against a lifetime income
What a defined benefit pension's commuted value is, what you give up and gain by taking it, and how a hypothetical Ontario example compares the two paths.
Read →Defined benefit vs defined contribution: two kinds of workplace pension
How defined benefit and defined contribution pensions differ, who carries which risks, why indexing matters, and a side-by-side New Brunswick example.
Read →Non-registered accounts in retirement: how taxable investing fits in
How non-registered investments are taxed in retirement, why cost base records matter, where taxable accounts fit in withdrawal order, and an Ontario example.
Read →RRIF minimum withdrawals: how the factors work, year by year
How RRIF minimum withdrawals are calculated, the CRA factors by age, what changes with a younger spouse's age, and a 30-year schedule from age 65.
Read →Converting your RRSP to a RRIF: the age-71 deadline and what follows
What happens when an RRSP matures at 71, the three options, how the first RRIF minimum is set, and a worked Nova Scotia example with tax estimates.
Read →RRSP vs TFSA for retirement: comparing tax now with tax later
How RRSPs and TFSAs compare for retirement saving, why tax rates now and later drive the result, and two worked examples with 2026 contribution limits.
Read →Spousal RRSPs: balancing retirement income between partners
How a spousal RRSP works, why couples use one to balance retirement income, the withdrawal attribution rule, and a worked BC tax comparison for 2026.
Read →The TFSA in retirement: a flexible account with no income footprint
How a TFSA works after you retire: 2026 room, withdrawals that don't count as income, where it fits in withdrawal order, and a worked Saskatchewan plan.
Read →Retirement income
Annuities in Canada: turning part of your savings into income for life
How life annuities work in Canada, the main types and options, how they are taxed, and a hypothetical example of what one does to the risk of running short.
Read →Which account to draw from first in retirement, and why the order matters
How the order of RRSP/RRIF, TFSA and non-registered withdrawals changes lifetime tax, OAS recovery tax and your estate, with a worked Alberta example.
Read →Tax in retirement
Pension income splitting: sharing eligible income with a spouse on your tax returns
Which income qualifies for pension splitting, the age rules for RRIF and workplace pensions, and two worked couples showing when splitting matters.
Read →Retirement tax planning in Canada: how retirement income is taxed and where the levers are
How CPP, OAS, pensions, RRIF and TFSA income are taxed in retirement, average versus marginal rates, and a Saskatchewan example at three incomes.
Read →RRSP meltdown: drawing registered savings down early to smooth lifetime tax
What an RRSP meltdown is, why some retirees draw RRSP money before 65, and a worked BC example comparing gentle and aggressive drawdowns.
Read →Life and lifestyle
Downsizing and home equity: turning part of your house into retirement income
How downsizing, renting, reverse mortgages and home equity lines compare for Canadian retirees, with a BC couple showing what freed-up equity changes.
Read →Retiring early in Canada: funding the years before CPP and OAS
What changes when you retire in your 50s in Canada: bridge years before CPP and OAS, a smaller CPP, longer horizons, and a Manitoba example at 55 and 58.
Read →Estate planning basics for retirees: wills, beneficiaries and the tax on a final return
The core pieces of an estate plan for Canadian retirees: wills, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations, CPP death benefits and the tax on a RRIF at death.
Read →Working part time in retirement: what a few years of earnings can do
How part-time earnings in early retirement interact with savings, CPP, OAS, GIS and tax in Canada, with a Nova Scotia example of a four-year bridge.
Read →Snowbirds and retiring abroad: what changes for your benefits, taxes and health coverage
What Canadian snowbirds and retirees moving abroad need to check: residency, provincial health coverage, OAS and CPP payments abroad, and tax on income.
Read →Retiring with a mortgage or other debt: what to weigh before and after the last paycheque
How carrying a mortgage or other debt into retirement affects cash flow, taxes and flexibility, and why a lump-sum RRSP payoff can cost far more tax than spreading it.
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