How do you use this FIRE calculator for Canada?
- Enter your age, take-home pay and yearly spending. Choose "A couple" to plan with combined household numbers.
- Enter your RRSP, TFSA and non-registered balances, and how much you put into the RRSP and TFSA each year.
- Set your CPP at 65 and the age you plan to start it, then your OAS and any workplace pension.
- Check the assumptions, then read your FI age, the bridge to benefits, the timeline and the risk tests.
Results update as you type. The share button saves your scenario in a link, and the CSV button downloads the year-by-year projection.
What is a FIRE number in Canada?
A FIRE number is the amount you need invested so your portfolio can pay for your life without a job. FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The basic version is yearly spending ÷ safe withdrawal rate, so $55,000 a year at 4% needs $1,375,000.
Canadians usually need less than that, because two government pensions start later in life. This calculator values each year of retirement separately: before CPP and OAS begin, your savings pay for everything; once they begin, your savings only cover the difference. Each year's shortfall is valued at the rate implied by your withdrawal rate, so the expensive early years get the same safety margin as the rest. With no benefits, the answer is exactly spending ÷ withdrawal rate.
Worked example
Priya is 34, takes home $100,000 and spends $55,000, so she saves $45,000 a year (45% of her pay). She has $90,000 in her RRSP and $60,000 in her TFSA. Each year she puts $15,000 into her RRSP, $7,000 into her TFSA and the rest into a non-registered account. She expects $10,300 a year of CPP at 65, close to the July 2026 average, and full OAS of $9,150 a year. With a 7% return, 3% inflation and 0.1% fees, her real return is 3.79%.
- Without CPP or OAS, she would need $1,375,000 and reach it at 52.
- With both from 65, she reaches financial independence at age 49 with $1,132,116.
- Of that, $705,830 is the bridge that pays her full spending from 49 to 65, and $426,286 tops up CPP and OAS for the rest of her life.
- At 49 her money would sit roughly $452,794 in the RRSP, $242,736 in the TFSA and $453,301 non-registered.
The bridge is the biggest part of an early Canadian retirement. If Priya chose to retire at 50 instead, the bridge would be $673,711 of the $1,120,434 she needs. The early retirement calculator goes deeper on planning those years.
How do CPP and OAS work for early retirees?
CPP and OAS are separate programs with different rules. CPP is earned through contributions from your pay. OAS is based on how long you have lived in Canada, not on your work history. Both are paid for life and indexed: CPP rises each January with the Consumer Price Index (by 2.0% for 2026)[3], and OAS is adjusted every January, April, July and October[6]. That is why the calculator treats them as constant amounts in today's dollars.
| Rule | CPP retirement pension | OAS pension |
|---|---|---|
| Based on | Your contributions and earnings | Years in Canada after 18 (full at 40) |
| Earliest start | 60, with 0.6% less per month before 65 (36% less at 60) | 65 |
| Latest start | 70, with 0.7% more per month after 65 (42% more at 70) | 70, with 0.6% more per month after 65 (36% more at 70) |
| 2026 maximum at 65 | $1,507.65 a month ($18,092 a year) | $762.50 a month (October to December 2026) |
| Later changes | Indexed each January | Indexed quarterly; 10% higher from 75 |
The CPP maximum is well above what a typical retiree receives: the average pension for someone starting at 65 was $858.34 a month in July 2026[2]. OAS went up permanently by 10% for people 75 and over in July 2022[4], and the calculator includes that increase.
Should you take CPP at 60, 65 or 70?
Starting CPP early gives you money sooner but a smaller payment for life. Waiting gives you a larger one, which also protects you if you live into your late 90s. Here is how the choice changes Priya's plan, with everything else the same:
| Start CPP at | CPP per year | FI age | FIRE number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | $6,592 | 50 | $1,144,738 |
| 65 | $10,300 | 49 | $1,132,116 |
| 70 | $14,626 | 49 | $1,121,573 |
Our calculation with this page's calculator: CPP of the July 2026 average at 65, full OAS from 65, 4% withdrawal rate, plan to 95, today's dollars.
Taking CPP at 60 cuts it by 36%: Priya would reach financial independence at 50 with $1,144,738. Waiting to 70 adds 42%: she would reach it at 49 with $1,121,573. A bigger pension covers more of every year for the rest of her life, while an early one only helps for the few years between 60 and 65. The difference is modest here because CPP is only part of Priya's income. Your health, your partner's plans and how long your family tends to live matter too, and the calculator's table lets you test your own numbers.
OAS deferral works the same way with smaller steps: each month after 65 adds 0.6%, up to 36% at 70[5]. Deferring OAS by two years, for example, raises it by 14.4%.
RRSP or TFSA: which should you fill first?
Both accounts let your investments grow without yearly tax, but they are taxed at opposite ends. RRSP contributions are deducted from your income now, and every dollar you take out later is added to your income in the year you withdraw it[12]. TFSA contributions are not deductible, but growth and withdrawals are generally tax-free[10].
| Account | 2026 room | When you withdraw |
|---|---|---|
| RRSP | 18% of last year's earned income, up to $33,810, minus any pension adjustment; unused room carries forward | Added to your taxable income; must mature by the end of the year you turn 71 |
| TFSA | $7,000 plus unused room from earlier years | Tax-free; the amount comes back as room on January 1 of the next year |
| Non-registered | No limit | No special tax shelter |
The deciding question is your tax rate now compared with your tax rate when the money comes out. If you expect to withdraw at a lower rate than you save at, the RRSP comes out ahead; if not, the TFSA does. Early retirees can have a window of low taxable income between leaving work and starting CPP and OAS. That window can be a good time to draw down the RRSP, while the TFSA stays available for large or unexpected costs.
The calculator does not model tax, because the right answer depends on your province, your other income and the order you withdraw in. Instead it shows how much of your money will sit in each account, so you can see how much of your future spending will be taxable. Add the expected tax on RRSP withdrawals to your retirement spending.
What happens to your RRSP at 71?
An RRSP must generally mature by the last day of the year you turn 71[12]. In that year you choose to withdraw the money, transfer it to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) or use it to buy an annuity[13]. A RRIF keeps the investments growing tax-sheltered but must pay you a yearly minimum starting the year after you set it up[12]. Those payments count as income.
For a FIRE plan this matters in two ways. First, a large RRSP forces taxable income on you from your early 70s, whether you need the money or not. Second, that income stacks on top of CPP and OAS. The calculator's timeline marks 71 so you can see what your savings still have to pay at that point.
How does the OAS clawback work?
The OAS recovery tax, often called the clawback, applies when your net world income is above a threshold: you repay 15% of the amount over it, taken from your monthly OAS payments[7]. The threshold is $93,454 for the 2025 income year and $95,323 for 2026, which sets the recovery from July 2027 to June 2028.
For example, with a net income of $110,000 in 2026, the recovery would be 15% × ($110,000 − $95,323) = $2,201.55, out of $9,150 of OAS. The threshold applies to each person's own net income, so for a couple, how taxable income is split between partners matters. The calculator does not apply the clawback; if your retirement income will be above the threshold, enter a lower OAS amount.
What return and inflation should Canadians assume?
Inflation matters because everything here is in today's dollars. The Bank of Canada aims to keep inflation at 2%, the midpoint of a 1%-3% range[14], while consumer prices rose 3.1% in the 12 months to September 2026[15]. The calculator's 3% default leaves a margin above the target.
For returns, the 7% default sits between history and forecasts. US stocks returned 10.0% a year from 1928 to 2025[16], while Vanguard's 10-year forecasts are 4.8%-6.8% for US stocks and 5.3%-7.3% for developed markets outside the US[17]. Set the return for your own mix of Canadian, US and international funds, after fees.
The withdrawal rate matters more. The 4% rule was built for 30-year retirements[18]. If you retire in your 40s, research on 50-60 year horizons points to 3.25%-3.5%[19]. At 3.5%, Priya would need $1,243,994 and reach it at 51.
Why does the risk test use US market history?
The Monte Carlo simulation and the historical backtest replay US stock, bond and inflation data from 1928 to 2025, the longest consistent record we have. They do not use Canadian data. Canadian markets have had a different history, and the future will differ from both, so read the success rates as a test of how your plan's shape copes with bad sequences, not as a Canadian forecast. What matters most is the order of returns early in retirement: a bad first decade does far more damage than the same returns later[20]. If the success rate is below about 90%, consider a lower withdrawal rate, a few more working years or flexible spending.
FIRE for Canadian couples
Choose "A couple" and enter combined pay, spending and accounts, using the younger partner's age, so the plan lasts as long as either of you is likely to need it. Each partner has their own CPP, OAS, RRSP room and TFSA room, so add both CPP estimates and both OAS amounts together. If one of you will claim much later than the other, run the calculator with the later age to stay on the safe side. To see whether you can stop saving now and let your accounts grow, try the Canada Coast FIRE calculator, and read the methodology for the full formulas.