Retire Estimate is a free, browser-based retirement planning calculator built for Canadians. It projects a household's year-by-year retirement finances, including net worth, cash flow, CPP/QPP and OAS (including GIS and the OAS clawback), RRIF/LIF minimum withdrawals, and take-home income after tax, using Canada's current federal and provincial rules for all 13 provinces and territories.
It goes beyond a simple calculator. It models the same core mechanics a professional financial planner works with: CPP/QPP and OAS timing, RRSP/RRIF and LIRA/LIF minimums, TFSA and non-registered drawdown, GIS, the OAS clawback, and province-specific tax brackets, giving it the same analytical depth as the financial planning software paid professionals use.
Start planningI held my CFP (Certified Financial Planner) designation for most of a nearly two-decade career as an investment advisor and financial planner, before leaving the industry to pursue something different. One thing that never sat right with me: the good retirement-planning software, the kind that actually models CPP/OAS timing, RRIF minimums, pension splitting, and provincial tax brackets properly, mostly sits behind a paywall that only advisors and their firms can access.
The purpose of this project is to give Canadians and professionals free, direct access to that level of analysis on their own time. I am not currently working in anything financial and have no interest in monetizing this beyond, at most, recovering the cost of the domain down the road. There are no ads, no lead-generation, and no "talk to an advisor" upsell. The tool keeps improving based on real feedback, so if something is wrong, confusing, or missing, please tell me: [email protected].
The numbers you enter, such as names, ages, balances, and income, are processed entirely in your browser. They are never sent to a server, written to a database, or stored in a cookie. Every figure lives only in that browser tab's memory and is gone when you close it, unless you explicitly download it yourself. Because your figures never leave your browser on their own, there is no shared store of anyone's data anywhere. As it stands today, this site collects and retains nothing.
The Save and Load buttons inside the calculator let you keep a plan between visits without changing any of that. Save builds a plain file containing everything you have entered, generated entirely in your browser, and hands it to your device as a normal download; nothing is uploaded anywhere. Load reads that file back in the same way, entirely in your browser, with no server involved on either side.
No. There is no login or account system of any kind. Open the calculator, enter your numbers, and use it.
Yes, including real pension income-splitting rules: DB pensions are splittable at any age, RRIF/LIF/annuity income only once the recipient turns 65, and CPP/OAS/GIS are never splittable, matching actual CRA rules.
It models early and late claiming adjustments, survivor benefits (60% of the deceased's pension added to the survivor's own, capped at the plan maximum), and separate CPP and QPP reduction/increase factors.
The calculator models the standard OAS rates for ages 65 to 74 and 75-plus, the OAS clawback (an income-tested recovery tax above a threshold), and the bonus for deferring OAS past age 65.
GIS, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, is an income-tested top-up to OAS for lower-income retirees. It is reduced by 50 cents per dollar of other income and phases out entirely above a threshold.
Forced minimum withdrawals from a RRIF start at age 72, using the CRA's prescribed factor table.
Yes. It uses combined federal and provincial marginal tax brackets for all 13 provinces and territories.
No. It is a simplified, educational illustration. A real advisor can factor in personal circumstances this tool cannot capture. It is meant to give you a solid starting point and a way to test scenarios, not a substitute for tailored professional advice.
The calculator is a year-by-year projection engine built directly from Canada's official federal and provincial tax and benefit tables. It models CPP/QPP and OAS claiming and timing, the OAS clawback, GIS, RRSP/RRIF and LIRA/LIF minimum and jurisdiction-specific maximum withdrawals, DB pension indexing, and combined federal plus provincial/territorial marginal tax brackets. Every figure the engine uses traces back to a specific published government source, listed below, so the numbers can be checked directly rather than taken on faith.
Tax brackets, benefit amounts, and contribution limits are calendar-year-specific and change annually. The calculator is re-based each year against updated figures from these sources.
Nothing on this site is financial, tax, legal, retirement, or investment advice. Everything you see is a simplified, educational illustration built from the numbers you enter and a set of simplifying assumptions; it is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold, contribute, withdraw, claim, or otherwise act on any financial product, government benefit, or strategy, and it will not exactly match a real financial plan, a real tax return, or your actual future results.
No advisory or professional relationship is created by using this site, and no warranty of any kind is given, express or implied. This site is provided strictly "as is" and "as available." Tax rates, benefit amounts, contribution limits, and government program rules change over time and by jurisdiction, and this tool may not reflect the most current figures or your specific circumstances.
Use this tool entirely at your own risk. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Canada Revenue Agency, Service Canada, Retraite Québec, any government body, or any financial institution or investment advisor/planner. Always confirm your actual CPP/QPP, OAS, and other benefit entitlements directly through the relevant government agency, and consult a qualified, licensed financial planner, accountant, or tax professional before making any financial decision.