The Canadian Retirement Tax Series 1 · Drawdown sequencing· 2 · CPP & OAS timing· 3 · Tax at death
Free Tool · Companion to The $200,000 CPP Mistake

CPP & OAS Timing Calculator

Most calculators give you one answer built on one assumed lifespan. This one shows you which start age wins at every lifespan — because that, and not a breakeven table, is the bet you are actually being asked to make.

Your numbers

Seven fields. Everything else has a sensible default.

The figure from your Statement of Contributions. Note that it assumes you keep contributing at your recent level right up to 65 — which is why the next field matters.
The age you retired, or plan to. Every year between then and 65 enters your record as a zero, and past the dropout allowance those zeros pull the age-65 figure down. Leave at 65 if you'll work through.
40 or more gets full OAS. Fewer gets that fraction of it.
Pension, work, investments, and any RRSP or RRIF withdrawals. Exclude CPP and OAS. This figure drives the OAS recovery tax across the whole 65–70 window.
RRSP plus LIRA. Used to check whether you can fund the deferral years, and to estimate your RRIF minimums later.
Applies from 71 on, once RRIF minimums start. Leave at 0 and we'll estimate it from your registered balance grown to 75 — the figure almost everyone forgets.
Advanced assumptions
After inflation, after tax. CPP is indexed, so this must be a real return — using a nominal one is the most common error in CPP analysis and it always favours taking it early.
Your contributory period runs from 18. Years of school or travel before your first real job are already zeros, and they consume the same dropout allowance that early retirement needs — so a later start makes retiring early cost more.

The calculator gives you the number. The book gives you the decision.

Longevity, bridge capacity, GIS exposure, survivor benefits, the twelve-month cancellation window, and the four factors that actually settle it — worked through in plain language, with a one-page worksheet at the end.

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The $200,000 CPP Mistake Most Canadians Make cover
The Series

Three Decisions, Three Books

This tool answers one of them. Each book answers one question and stands on its own.

Book One
“In what order do I draw down my accounts?”

The $100,000 RRSP & RRIF Mistake

Withdrawal sequencing, the meltdown window, asset location, LIRA unlocking, and keeping RRIF minimums clear of the OAS clawback.

Read More →
Book Two — New
“When do I turn on CPP and OAS?”

The $200,000 CPP Mistake

The book behind this calculator. The adjustment math, why breakeven is the wrong question, OAS as a separate decision, and the couples arithmetic.

Read More →
Book Three
“What lands on the final return?”

The $150,000 Terminal Tax Bomb

What the spousal rollover defers rather than erases — beneficiary design, the second-death projection, and donation credits.

Read More →