RRIF minimum withdrawal calculator and 2026 CRA table

By Kaetyn St. Hilaire, CFA

Your age at the start of the calendar year in whole years, from 55 to 100. If you chose to base the minimum on a younger spouse's age when you set up the RRIF, enter that age instead. The starting value is 72.

The market value of your RRIF on January 1, which is the figure the minimum is based on. Your statement for December 31 is a good guide. The starting value is $500,000.

The yearly return the projection assumes on what stays in the RRIF. The starting value is 6.4%, the FP Canada Projection Assumption Guidelines (2026) return for U.S. equities, a nominal rate before fees. Change it to suit your investments.

The headline is the least you must take out this year: your January 1 balance times the minimum rate for your age. Under it, the rate is shown with the balance and age it applies to.

Your age, the January 1 balance, the minimum rate to two decimals and the minimum withdrawal to the cent. This is the amount your RRIF carrier works from when it sets your payments for the year.

Each year the minimum comes out of the January 1 balance and the rest grows at the rate of return, to age 100. With the starting values, $500,000 at 72 and 6.4% a year, the minimums add up to $1,067,193 and $88,421 is left at the end of age 100. The balance grows a little until 77, then falls as the minimum rate overtakes the return.

The chart and table show the minimum rate at every age from 55 to 95 and what it would require on your balance, with your age highlighted. The balance is held constant, so they show the shape of the schedule; the projection above shows the balance changing with growth and withdrawals.

The last part of the result covers timing. An RRSP has to become a RRIF, buy an annuity or be cashed out by December 31 of the year you turn 71. The first minimum is due the year after the RRIF is set up, and you can convert earlier if you want income sooner.

The CRA prescribes a factor for each age from 71 to 94, and 20% from 95. Before 71 the factor is 1 divided by (90 minus your age). The age is the one at the start of the year, or a younger spouse's age if you chose that when the RRIF was set up.

These are the factors for RRIFs set up after 1992, which covers almost every RRIF today. The CRA publishes separate factors for older qualifying RRIFs at some ages.

Source: CRA prescribed factors. Amounts rounded to the dollar.

For retirees with large registered balances, taking only the minimum defers tax into your later years and your estate, often at higher rates. RRIF withdrawal strategies for retirees explains why, and where the extra withdrawals should go.

The years between retirement and 71 are often the cheapest tax years you will have. The retirement tax window and pension income splitting show how to use them. Setting the withdrawal schedule alongside CPP, OAS and your TFSA is the work of retirement planning in Calgary with Kaetyn.

A conversation about where you are, what you are building toward, and whether your current plan fits together, including how much to draw from your RRIF each year. No pressure, no pitch.