How much does CPP drop if I start at 60?

It is cut 0.6% for each month before 65, so starting at 60 pays 64% of your age-65 amount, for life. Starting at 70 pays 142%.

Is it better to take CPP early if I retire early?

Stopping work early does not change the rule: an early start still pays less every month for life. What it changes is the bridge. Taking CPP later means a bigger bridge from your own savings and a smaller pot afterwards; the calculator shows both, so you can see which way your numbers lean.

Do I get OAS if I retire early?

OAS depends on age and years lived in Canada, not on work. It starts at 65 at the earliest, needs 10 years in Canada after 18 (20 if you live abroad), and pays in full after 40 years.

Where do I find my CPP estimate?

My Service Canada Account shows your CPP contributions and an estimate of your pension. CPP depends on your earnings over your working years, so stopping work early, with years of low or no earnings, can lower it. Check what your estimate assumes before you rely on it.

CPP and OAS calculator, for retiring early

See what CPP and OAS are worth from the ages you start them, and how much smaller they make the pot you need to stop work early.

Figures in Canadian dollars (C$), from Canada.ca.

Stopping work at 50 on C$50,000 a year, with no CPP or OAS counted yet, the pot you need is

C$1,250,000

That is your spending divided by a 4% withdrawal rate. Enter your CPP estimate at 65 and your years in Canada after 18 to see how much the two pensions take off it.

For good: spending the pensions never cover: C$1,250,000
Bridge to CPP (15 years): C$0
Bridge to OAS (15 years): C$0
CPP a month from 65: C$0.00; 100% of your age-65 amount.
OAS a month from 65: C$0.00; Needs 10 years in Canada after 18.

Age you stop workFrom 30 to 70.Yearly spending once you stopIn today's money. From 1,000 to 1,000,000.C$Your CPP estimate at 65, a monthYour own figure from My Service Canada Account, which may assume you keep working to 65: stopping earlier, with years of low or no earnings, can lower it. Up to the 2026 maximum at 65, C$1,507.65; most people get less.C$Age you start CPPFrom 60 to 70.Years in Canada after 18, by the time OAS startsComplete years. Under 10 means no OAS (under 20 if you live outside Canada when it starts; this page assumes you live in Canada); 40 or more means the full pension. From 0 to 60.Age you start OASFrom 65 to 70.Return above inflation, %Your assumption. It prices the years before the pensions start and the pot that lasts to 100. Not a forecast. From 0 to 10, up to 2 decimal places.Withdrawal rate, %The share of the pot you take each year. 4% is the common rule, from Bengen (1994), a study of US market history. From 2 to 10, up to 2 decimal places.

CPP by start age, against the age-65 amount.
Start at	Share of 65	Your CPP a month
60	64%	Enter your estimate
61	71.2%	Enter your estimate
62	78.4%	Enter your estimate
63	85.6%	Enter your estimate
64	92.8%	Enter your estimate
65	100%	Enter your estimate
66	108.4%	Enter your estimate
67	116.8%	Enter your estimate
68	125.2%	Enter your estimate
69	133.6%	Enter your estimate
70	142%	Enter your estimate

OAS by start age. Full pension C$762.50 a month at 65 to 74 (October to December 2026).
Start at	Share of 65	Your OAS a month
65	100%	C$0.00
66	107.2%	C$0.00
67	114.4%	C$0.00
68	121.6%	C$0.00
69	128.8%	C$0.00
70	136%	C$0.00

Both pensions rise with prices, so they are shown in today's money. Not modeled: income tax, the OAS recovery tax, the 10% OAS increase at 75, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, Quebec Pension Plan rules and start dates between birthdays. The link carries your figures after the #, so you can save or share it. Your figures are not sent to us.

The start age moves CPP for life

CPP can start any time from 60 to 70. Against the amount at 65, it is cut 0.6% for each month earlier (7.2% a year) and raised 0.7% for each month later (8.4% a year). There is no gain in waiting past 70.

OAS starts at 65 at the earliest and is raised 0.6% for each month you wait, up to 36% more at 70. For someone who stops work at 50, both pensions are still years away: the gap is what the bridge in the calculator pays for.

OAS: years in Canada, and the clawback

The full OAS pension is C$762.50 a month at 65 to 74 for October to December 2026; it is reviewed every quarter for prices. It needs 40 years in Canada after 18. With 10 to 39 years you get a partial pension, one fortieth of the full amount for each complete year. From 75 it is 10% higher; the calculator leaves that out, which makes the pot it shows slightly larger than it needs to be.

OAS is taxable, and a recovery tax claws part of it back when your net income in a year is above a threshold (C$95,323 on income for 2026, taken back from July 2027): 15% of the income above it, up to the whole pension. RRSP withdrawals count as income, so a large one in a single year can push you over it; money in a TFSA has no effect on OAS.

What pays the years before the pensions

The bridge can come from a TFSA or a non-registered account. TFSA money comes out tax-free whenever you want it. RRSP money can be withdrawn too, but tax is withheld on each withdrawal and the withdrawal goes on your return as income for that year. This page does not model accounts or tax; it shows how big the bridge is.

Questions people ask

How much does CPP drop if I start at 60?: It is cut 0.6% for each month before 65, so starting at 60 pays 64% of your age-65 amount, for life. Starting at 70 pays 142%.
Is it better to take CPP early if I retire early?: Stopping work early does not change the rule: an early start still pays less every month for life. What it changes is the bridge. Taking CPP later means a bigger bridge from your own savings and a smaller pot afterwards; the calculator shows both, so you can see which way your numbers lean.
Do I get OAS if I retire early?: OAS depends on age and years lived in Canada, not on work. It starts at 65 at the earliest, needs 10 years in Canada after 18 (20 if you live abroad), and pays in full after 40 years.
Where do I find my CPP estimate?: My Service Canada Account shows your CPP contributions and an estimate of your pension. CPP depends on your earnings over your working years, so stopping work early, with years of low or no earnings, can lower it. Check what your estimate assumes before you rely on it.

Sources: Canada.ca, CPP: when to start, CPP amounts, OAS: when to start, OAS eligibility, OAS amounts and the OAS recovery tax; the partial pension rule is in the Old Age Security Act, s. 3(3). The lines on TFSAs and RRSPs come from the Canada Revenue Agency pages What is a TFSA and tax on RRSP withdrawals; the line on CPP rising with prices comes from the Employment and Social Development Canada page CPP amounts and the Consumer Price Index on Canada.ca.