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Retirement planning in Canada starts with sequencing: map your income sources, time your benefits and withdrawals for tax, then align your estate plan so what you’ve built supports your retirement and the people after you.
Most pre-retirees already have pieces of a plan in place. Maybe it's an RRSP, an employer pension, or a will drafted years ago. What's often missing is the order in which those pieces come together. For retirement planning, Canada's pension, tax, and estate rules reward getting that sequence right.
Longevity Wealth builds one retirement plan around it. That plan connects the retirement income you'll live on with what you'll pass on. This guide walks through when to start and the five steps that put those pieces in order, from mapping your income to aligning your estate plan.
When Should You Start Retirement Planning in Canada?
The right time to start retirement planning in Canada is now, and the decade before retirement is when your decisions carry the most weight. The choices you make in those years shape your options for decades.
They decide how you draw retirement income and when you take Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) benefits. Business owners and executives also have to settle how they pay themselves and how their corporation invests its retained earnings.
Where to Begin With Retirement Planning in Canada
Retirement planning works best as a sequence, where each step builds on the one before it. The five steps below follow the order most retirement plans should take.
Step 1: Map Your Income Sources
Start by listing every source of retirement income you'll have, then sort each one into Canada's three pillars. Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan are the two pillars of government. Personal savings make up the third. That's where your own registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), a group RRSP, employer pension plans, and tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) sit.
OAS is based on years lived in Canada after 18, not your work history. Even at the maximum, these retirement benefits won't come close to replacing a higher earner's paycheque.
| Benefit | Amount |
|---|---|
| Maximum CPP pension at 65 (2026) | $1,507.65/month |
| Average CPP pension at 65 (July 2026) | $858.34/month |
| OAS, ages 65 to 74 (October to December 2026) | $762.50/month |
| OAS, age 75 and older (October to December 2026) | $838.75/month |
Figures reflect the latest available information from Canada.ca's maximum benefit amounts for October to December 2026, and the CPP payment amounts pages.
For business owners and executives, other income sources include corporate savings, business equity, and pension plans such as an individual pension plan (IPP).
Step 2: Estimate What Retirement Will Cost
Then put a number on what you'll spend each year, since that tells you how much income your sources need to produce. Don't assume your retirement expenses will mirror today's.
Travel, health care, and helping out adult kids or aging parents often take their place. Retirement can also last decades, so your cash flow has to hold up longer than many plans assume.
For a quick first pass, try the government's free Canadian Retirement Income Calculator.
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Step 3: Time Your Benefits and Retirement Income Withdrawals
Once your income and spending are mapped, decide when to draw on each source, since timing affects how much income tax you pay.
CPP timing. The Canada Pension Plan can start as early as 60 or as late as 70. Each month you wait past 65 adds 0.7% to your payments, up to 42% at 70.
RRIF minimums. Your RRSP must become a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) or annuity by the end of the year you turn 71. Minimum withdrawals start the next year, whether you need the money or not.
OAS clawback. Once your 2026 net income passes $95,323 for those aged 65 to 74, the government takes back 15 cents of Old Age Security for every dollar over. Land a big RRIF withdrawal, a dividend, and investment gains in the same tax year, and you could lose part of it. TFSA withdrawals don't count toward that income.
Spousal tax strategies. For couples, spousal RRSPs and pension income splitting can lower overall tax.
Step 4: Align Your Estate Plan
Your retirement plan should also include what happens to your retirement savings after you're gone, because that affects both the tax bill and what your family gets. In most cases, the full value of an RRSP or RRIF is taxed as income on your final return.
The exception is when it passes to a spouse or common-law partner, or to a financially dependent child or grandchild. Naming beneficiaries on registered accounts and a successor holder on a TFSA can move those assets directly to the people you choose.
An up-to-date will and powers of attorney round out the picture. A full estate planning review checks that every piece lines up.
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Step 5: Bring Your Advisors Together
The last step is getting your accountant, lawyer, and financial advisor to work from the same retirement plan, since a decision in one area shapes the others. Many Canadians end up as the go-between, repeating the same numbers to each professional. Their retirement planning advice ends up in pieces.
Gaps like these tend to surface later: according to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, 41% of retirees say their financial standard of living is lower than they anticipated before retiring. At Longevity Wealth, one coordinated plan brings your tax planning, investment advice, insurance, and estate strategy together under a dedicated advisor.
Retirement Planning Canada FAQs
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There’s no single number. It depends on what you expect to spend, how long retirement lasts, and how much CPP, OAS, and your pension plans will cover. Your own numbers in the Canadian Retirement Income Calculator beat any general benchmark, and a financial advisor can then pressure-test them against your savings and goals.
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For families whose main income earner was 55 to 64 and who owned a home and had an employer pension, the median net worth was $1.4 million. That figure comes from Statistics Canada's 2023 Survey of Financial Security. It includes home equity, so it isn't a measure of retirement savings alone.
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Not always, but an advisor becomes more valuable as your income sources multiply. You can self-manage an RRSP and workplace pension. Adding business assets, several accounts, or estate goals to your retirement plan makes it more difficult to coordinate timing and taxes. That's where retirement planning advice tends to pay for itself.
Key Takeaways
Begin with sequencing. Know what’s coming in and what you’ll spend before deciding when to draw on anything.
Government benefits are a base, not the plan. For a higher earner, CPP and OAS cover a small slice of the income you're used to.
Timing affects tax. CPP deferral, RRIF minimums, and the OAS clawback all reward planning ahead.
Estate planning is part of retirement planning. How your RRSP, RRIF, and TFSA pass on affects taxes, and what your family receives.
Coordination matters more as income sources multiply. One plan keeps your advisors from working against each other.
Where Longevity Wealth Fits in Your Retirement Plan
Longevity Wealth treats retirement planning in Canada as one sequence, not a stack of separate decisions. In a no-obligation consultation, your dedicated advisor maps out your income sources, benefit timing, and estate plan. It works whether you're planning solo or with a spouse. The lifestyle you've built can then support both your retirement and your legacy.
Live well, longer.
