Before You Retire in Canada: A Financial Checklist

Retiring well is mostly a matter of making a handful of decisions in the right order, several of which can’t be undone. This checklist sets them out, with a short note on each and a link to the page that covers it in depth. It’s part of the retirement planning hub, whose other guides cover how much you need.

A rough timeline

1. Map your retirement income

List each source and when it starts: a workplace pension, CPP, OAS, and for lower incomes the Guaranteed Income Supplement, plus withdrawals from RRSPs, TFSAs and other savings. Your CPP Statement of Contributions gives an estimate of your pension, and the Government of Canada’s Canadian Retirement Income Calculator lets you compare starting it at 60, 65 and 70. If you’re leaving a defined benefit plan before retiring, see pension commuted value.

2. Decide when to start CPP

CPP can start at any age from 60 to 70. Starting before 65 permanently reduces the monthly pension; waiting past 65 permanently increases it. The right age depends on health, other income and whether you’ll keep working. See CPP at 60 vs 65 vs 70.

3. Decide when to start OAS

OAS begins at 65 and can be deferred up to 70 for a higher payment. It’s reduced for higher incomes through the recovery tax (clawback), which can affect the choice; see OAS deferral, the OAS clawback and when to apply for OAS.

4. Plan the RRSP-to-RRIF conversion

An RRSP must mature by December 31 of the year you turn 71: by then you convert it to a RRIF, buy an annuity, or withdraw it as taxable income (or combine these). RRIF minimum withdrawals start the year after the RRIF is opened. Large mandatory withdrawals add to taxable income and can interact with the OAS clawback, so the order and timing of withdrawals from RRSPs, TFSAs and non-registered accounts matters. See the RRIF statement guide for the minimum withdrawal rates and the RRIF calculator to project them.

5. Replace work health and dental coverage

Provincial plans cover physician and hospital care but generally not dental, vision or all prescription drugs, and some provinces have drug programs for seniors. Group benefits usually end with your job; some insurers let you convert to an individual plan without medical questions if you apply within a short window. Confirm the end date of your group coverage and any conversion deadline before your last day.

6. Review debt

List what will still be owed at retirement: mortgage, lines of credit, car loans. Payments on variable-rate debt can rise, while most retirement income is fixed or grows only with inflation.

7. Look at income splitting

Couples can split up to 50% of eligible pension income, including RRIF income from 65, by election each year on the tax return. A spousal RRSP and TFSA withdrawals, which aren’t taxable income, can also even out incomes. See pension income splitting.

8. Update estate documents

Confirm your will and powers of attorney are current, and check beneficiary and successor designations on RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, pensions and life insurance; the beneficiary designation guide explains each.

Before your last day of work

• Income sources listed, with start dates and monthly estimates
• CPP start age chosen; OAS start age chosen
• Pension options and deadlines confirmed with your employer’s plan
• Group health and dental end date confirmed, and replacement coverage arranged
• A retirement budget compared with expected income
• Will, powers of attorney and beneficiary designations reviewed

Related reading

• How much do I need to retire?
• Do you need a financial advisor?
• Pension commuted value
• Financial guide for your 60s