Assumptions & sources
Every figure the planner uses is listed here with its published source and the year it applies to. Where a current-year figure hasn't been published yet, the prior year's figure is used and labelled that way — nothing is extrapolated silently.
CPP
| Figure | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPP maximum monthly at 65New beneficiary maximum. | 1,507.65 | 2026 | source |
| CPP average monthly (new beneficiaries) | 877.01 | 2026 (Q3, Jul-Sep) | source |
| CPP early-start reduction | 0.6% per month before 65 (36% less at 60) | 2026 | source |
| CPP late-start increase | 0.7% per month after 65 (42% more at 70) | 2026 | source |
OAS
| Figure | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| OAS maximum monthly (65-74) | 751.97 | 2026 (Q3, Jul-Sep) | source |
| OAS maximum monthly (75+)The automatic 10% increase at 75. | 827.17 | 2026 (Q3, Jul-Sep) | source |
| OAS deferral increase | 0.6% per month past 65 (max 36% at 70) | 2026 | source |
| OAS recovery tax threshold | 95,323 | 2026 | source |
| OAS recovery tax rate15% of net income above the threshold, capped at the OAS received. | 15% | 2026 | source |
RRIF
| Figure | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| RRIF minimum factors (ages 71-95)CRA prescribed factors (2015 Budget table, unchanged). The age-95 factor applies to every later age. | 71: 5.28% · 72: 5.4% · 73: 5.53% · 74: 5.67% · 75: 5.82% · 76: 5.98% · 77: 6.17% · 78: 6.36% · 79: 6.58% · 80: 6.82% · 81: 7.08% · 82: 7.38% · 83: 7.71% · 84: 8.08% · 85: 8.51% · 86: 8.99% · 87: 9.55% · 88: 10.21% · 89: 10.99% · 90: 11.92% · 91: 13.06% · 92: 14.49% · 93: 16.34% · 94: 18.79% · 95: 20% | 2026 | source |
| RRIF minimum before age 71 | 1 / (90 - age) | 2026 | source |
Tax
| Figure | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal tax brackets | 14% over $0 · 20.5% over $58,523 · 26% over $117,045 · 29% over $181,440 · 33% over $258,482 | 2026 | source |
| Federal basic personal amount | $16,452, falling to $14,829 between $181,440 and $258,482 of income | 2026 | source |
| Federal age amount (65+) | max $9,208, reduced by 15% of income over $46,432 | 2026 | source |
| Federal pension income amountEligible pension income: defined-benefit pension at any age; RRIF withdrawals from 65. | 2,000 | 2026 | source |
| Ontario tax brackets | 5.05% over $0 · 9.15% over $53,891 · 11.16% over $107,785 · 12.16% over $150,000 · 13.16% over $220,000 | 2026 | source |
| Ontario basic personal amount | 12,989 | 2026 | source |
| Ontario age amount (65+) | max $6,342, reduced by 15% of income over $47,210 | 2026 | source |
| Ontario pension income amount | 1,796 | 2026 | source |
| Ontario surtax | 20% of provincial tax over $5,818 plus 36% of provincial tax over $7,446 | 2026 | source |
| British Columbia tax brackets | 5.6% over $0 · 7.7% over $50,363 · 10.5% over $100,728 · 12.29% over $115,648 · 14.7% over $140,430 · 16.8% over $190,405 · 20.5% over $265,545 | 2026 | source |
| British Columbia basic personal amount | 13,216 | 2026 | source |
| British Columbia age amount (65+) | max $5,927, reduced by 15% of income over $44,119 | 2026 | source |
| British Columbia pension income amount | 1,000 | 2026 | source |
| Alberta tax brackets | 8% over $0 · 10% over $61,200 · 12% over $154,259 · 13% over $185,111 · 14% over $246,813 · 15% over $370,220 | 2026 | source |
| Alberta basic personal amount | 22,769 | 2026 | source |
| Alberta age amount (65+) | max $6,345, reduced by 15% of income over $47,234 | 2026 | source |
| Alberta pension income amount | 1,753 | 2026 | source |
| Saskatchewan tax brackets | 10.5% over $0 · 12.5% over $54,532 · 14.5% over $155,805 | 2026 | source |
| Saskatchewan basic personal amount | 20,381 | 2026 | source |
| Saskatchewan age amount (65+) | max $5,901, reduced by 15% of income over $43,927 | 2026 | source |
| Saskatchewan pension income amount | 1,000 | 2026 | source |
| Manitoba tax brackets | 10.8% over $0 · 12.75% over $47,000 · 17.4% over $100,000 | 2026 | source |
| Manitoba basic personal amount | 15,780 | 2026 | source |
| Manitoba age amount (65+) | max $3,728, reduced by 15% of income over $27,749 | 2026 | source |
| Manitoba pension income amount | 1,000 | 2026 | source |
| Quebec tax brackets | 14% over $0 · 19% over $54,345 · 24% over $108,680 · 25.75% over $132,245 | 2026 | source |
| Quebec basic personal amount | 18,952 | 2026 | source |
| Quebec age amount (65+)Combined provincial age + retirement-income credits are approximated as an individual-income phase-out on the age amount. | max $3,986, reduced by 18.75% of income over $42,955 | 2026 | source |
| Quebec pension income amount | 3,541 | 2026 | source |
| New Brunswick tax brackets | 9.4% over $0 · 14% over $52,333 · 16% over $104,666 · 19.5% over $193,861 | 2026 | source |
| New Brunswick basic personal amount | 13,664 | 2026 | source |
| New Brunswick age amount (65+) | max $6,158, reduced by 15% of income over $45,844 | 2026 | source |
| New Brunswick pension income amount | 1,000 | 2026 | source |
| Nova Scotia tax brackets | 8.79% over $0 · 14.95% over $30,995 · 16.67% over $61,991 · 17.5% over $97,417 · 21% over $157,124 | 2026 | source |
| Nova Scotia basic personal amount | 11,932 | 2026 | source |
| Nova Scotia age amount (65+) | max $5,826, reduced by 15% of income over $30,828 | 2026 | source |
| Nova Scotia pension income amount | 1,173 | 2026 | source |
| Prince Edward Island tax brackets | 9.5% over $0 · 13.47% over $33,928 · 16.6% over $65,820 · 17.62% over $106,890 · 19% over $142,250 · 20% over $200,000 | 2026 | source |
| Prince Edward Island basic personal amount | 15,000 | 2026 | source |
| Prince Edward Island age amount (65+) | max $6,510, reduced by 15% of income over $36,600 | 2026 | source |
| Prince Edward Island pension income amount | 1,000 | 2026 | source |
| Newfoundland and Labrador tax bracketsBPA below is the blended-year figure after the mid-year raise to $15,000. | 8.7% over $0 · 14.5% over $44,678 · 15.8% over $89,354 · 17.8% over $159,528 · 19.8% over $223,340 · 20.8% over $285,319 · 21.3% over $570,638 · 21.8% over $1,141,275 | 2026 | source |
| Newfoundland and Labrador basic personal amount | 13,094 | 2026 | source |
| Newfoundland and Labrador age amount (65+) | max $7,142, reduced by 15% of income over $39,138 | 2026 | source |
| Newfoundland and Labrador pension income amount | 1,000 | 2026 | source |
Other figures
| Figure | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario health premiumNot indexed in law; the projection indexes it with everything else (documented simplification). | piecewise on income: $0 to $20,000 of income, then rising in steps to a $900 cap over $200,600 | 2026 | source |
| Saskatchewan senior supplement (65+)No income test. | 2,569 | 2026 | source |
| Capital gains inclusion rateThe 2024 proposed increase was formally cancelled March 21, 2025. | 50% | 2026 | source |
| Quebec federal abatement | 16.5% | 2026 | source |
Documented simplifications
- Non-registered growth is taxed each year as a realized capital gain (50% inclusion at the marginal rate) on the year's growth — an approximation of realized-gains drag. Withdrawals themselves are not additionally taxed. (The reference drawdown model instead tracks an adjusted-cost-base ratio and taxes the gain portion of each withdrawal.)
- Withdraw-at-start convention: withdrawals come out at the start of each year and the remaining balance grows at the nominal return for the full year.
- The projection runs in today's dollars and indexes every government figure (brackets, credits, CPP, OAS, the recovery-tax threshold — and the Ontario health premium, which in law is not indexed) at the plan's inflation rate.
- RRSPs are assumed to convert to a RRIF in the year the holder turns 71 (the latest allowed), so forced minimum withdrawals begin at 72. (The reference model also supports accounts already converted to a RRIF.)
- Defined-benefit pension income and pre-retirement employment income are treated as inflation-indexed.
- CPP entitlements are indexed at the plan's inflation rate from the plan start (wage-growth indexing before starting is not modelled separately).
- Couple mode is a close approximation: shared spending, withdrawals split across spouses in proportion to account balances, surplus reinvested evenly, pension income splitting searched in 5% steps, and both people are assumed to live to the horizon. CPP sharing between spouses is not modelled. (The reference model instead solves each spouse in sequential rounds.)
- Household surplus (for example forced RRIF minimums beyond spending) is reinvested in non-registered accounts at the start of the same year; the first-year tax drag on that reinvested amount is ignored.
- Lifetime tax includes the estate's final tax on remaining registered balances, computed as a single filer in the same province in the final year.
- The meltdown strategy falls back to the balanced result (with a note) when it cannot lower lifetime tax for the inputs given.
- Calendar years are anchored at the data file's tax year (2026 = the first plan year); the engine never reads the clock.
How the projection works
The planner projects one calendar year at a time, in nominal dollars. Each year it indexes government figures and your spending target by your inflation assumption, adds employment income until your chosen retirement age, starts CPP and OAS at the ages you picked (with the published early/late adjustments), and takes at least the required RRIF minimum once a RRIF is in play.
Whatever your after-tax spending target still needs is then drawn from savings in the order your strategy sets: balanced draws from non-registered first, then RRSP/RRIF, and TFSA last; meltdown additionally tops up RRSP/RRIF withdrawals to the ceiling of the current federal tax bracket before touching the TFSA, trading some tax now to shrink the tax bill later. Because withdrawals change your tax, and tax changes how much you need to withdraw, the engine iterates until the after-tax result lands within a dollar of the target.
Withdraw-at-start convention: withdrawals come out at the start of the year, and the remaining balance grows at your assumed return for that year. That's a deliberate, slightly conservative simplification of money that actually leaves accounts throughout the year.
Non-registered accounts are approximated: growth is taxed each year as a capital gain at half inclusion at your marginal rate (a stand-in for the drag of gains realized over time), and withdrawals themselves are not taxed again.
Couple mode is a beta approximation: spending is shared while benefits, accounts, and tax stay per person, and pension income splitting looks for the split that minimizes combined tax. CPP pension sharing is not modelled.
Estate: at the projection horizon, any remaining RRSP/RRIF balance is taxed as ordinary income in a single year — the way it works when a registered account is collapsed — and what's left across all accounts is the after-tax estate figure.
The engine is deterministic: the same inputs always produce the same outputs, nothing is random, and nothing depends on the day you run it. Projections are a way to understand trade-offs, not predictions — see the disclaimer.