The Truth About CPP - When should you begin your CPP

I took it at 60 because we had structured our income so we would not pay taxes, and the added CPP was extra to requirements, still did not push us into paying taxes, so we invested it into our self-directed TFSAs, and over the six years, we have seen 35% growth. The "math" says if you take CPP at 60 the break even point is age 74, purely on what you receive. However, based on our personal experience, the break even point, with investing the CPP, is more like 84 years old. I will not be looking back with regret in 18 years time, I may not be looking back at all....

You take CPP as soon as you can. If anything I’d say 62 is probably the best age. You don’t lose quite as much

I took CPP at 62 and continue to work full time investing CPP into my TFSA high interest return) will retire at 63 this year with a defined benefit pension. I might delay OAS once I analyze the tax implications as I get nearer to 65.

Early? 65 or 67? I took it at 62 and continued to work for 12 more months before retiring with DB pension) at 63. 😆

Don't forget to factor in inflation. The charts say you get 42% more after waiting five years (65-70) but that's also 5 years of inflation, so the 42% is not an effective rate, but a calculated rate.

Thank you. Good common sense. I'm mid-fifties and that graph showing total draw at 80 shows me I may draw at 60. The chances of me seeing 80 and being healthy are slim to none. You cannot take money with you.

So if all you have $20,000.00 bank how long do you wait ? To get some of it ? Just keep working till D.O.A.

Great info

I will start my BC Government pension at age 60. That will include a bridge benefit of about $850. At age 65, the bridge will go away, and I will start my CPP and OAS, which will add $2080 or a net amount of $1200. I will choose a 100% continuation just in case I predecease my wife.

Always great content

Thank you for the video walking in the forest. i plan to take CPP 10 yrs from now at age 67 and retire with defined benefit pension after working in BC health care for 20 years. As an immigrant, I only get 50% of Old Age Pension as I by the time turn 67, would have lived in CA for 20 years. I am enjoying life now on my days off as I agree with you: life is short, enjoy every moment we can

Retired 2 years ago, income cash from rsp, next year, drawing cpp at 60 👌

I agree, if you started collecting a 70 instead of 65 you would miss out on all that money you could have saved and invested over 5 years, living healthy cost money so if you want to live a long time it's better have enough money to eat well and live well.

Jones William Lee Jason Taylor Eric

Pillars of retirement are TIME, HEALTH and then $$$ so weigh them all in order to best decide when to take it.

I've got rental income,a pension plan, and saved a ton of money. Own some awesome stocks as well as other investments.

Yeah, none of these apply to me, so ... here I am after two divorces, a bankruptcy, and a suicide. And... I am okay with being the poor old guy, I kinda have to be.

I took my CPP at 60, and I am 62. My wealth manager said, "You don't need to do collect. Wait till you're 65 or 70". You know what ? So many of my beautiful souls of people I knew and loved are in heaven. They passed away far too young at ages 61, 62, 65 and maybe a bit older. They didn't take their CPP. Didn't enjoy what they earned over their working careers. They wanted to wait. It's not the guv's money, it's OURS. We earned it. Our places of employment, also contributed to it. TAKE THE MONEY!! Don't wait. Enjoy it. I certainly am. When you're 60, you're young and energetic. I have many aged friends that aren't going anywhere on a plane. Day trips yes, but not on a weeks+ vacation on a plane. They are over 75. I'm going on my 4th trip this year in 3 weeks. I'm not bragging. I'm just telling everyone ENJOY what is rightfully YOURS. I'm ENJOYING my hard earned CPP payment every month LOL, IT'S awesome!!! :)
Have a beautiful day everyone. PS. AWESOME VIDEO.

I took it at 60 cuz I can

The one benefit to CPP deferral is the 8.4% annually is also indexed. 42% more waiting 5 years is worth considering, especially if a large RRSP can replace CPP income. On the other hand, if you die young at 65 your estate gets $2500 death benefit. The CPP keeps all the extra. It's an important decision. Do the numbers to compare both options.

Excellent video. Money is pretty useless when you can’t do anything anymore.
My father told me this when he was 90 years old. “ my whole life a saved and saved for the future, now I have lots of money, but no future. Don’t do what I did”
Hans

Super great video great advice. Thank you Sir

Thanks for sharing your insights

I’m working until at least 65 but took mine at 60 and putting it all into gold as the future will need gold and dollars won’t matter as much

By time we get to 60
Government will change it so you cannot take it at 60
Government wants to hold onto our money as long as possible

I have a coworker that took her CPP at 63 and still works full time 40wk and now turning 70. This year .
I’ll be taking mine out at 60 and still work 35hrs a week . No retirement for me any time soon :I’ll be working forever in my life for now .

I have a coworker that took her CPP at 63 and still works full time 40wk and now turning 70. This year .
I’ll be taking mine out at 60 and still work 35hrs a week . No retirement for me any time soon :I’ll be working forever in my life for now .

You want to brag at Tim Hortons how much your CPP is per month or on the experiences you have witnessed since collecting it early.

62. Two years ago. 65 next year in March. Living for experiences.

I will never retire

I think 60 is too early and 70 is too late so 65 is best for most ppl. Extra payments with deferred collection are just a ploy by the government to ease their budget on the whole plan. I might also add that CPP and OAS collectively are "chicken scratch" and barely pay rent or property taxes/upkeep/utilities. They are also at risk of being clawed back by the government at any time! So, you must rely on YOUR OWN PENSION arrangements such as your RRSP and/or group retirement plans...that's where the money comes from. Do the math from there!

Excellent video. My mom lived to 100 and my dad still lives in his home in his 90s. I'm 67, stressed out on the job and have had it up to here with my 25 year old boss who is a moron and trying to push me out. I'm done deferring. I'm going to retire and get a part time job. The government is banking on you deferring and not living a long life. Also, the comment section is pure gold. If I live to be 90, I will just cut out the wild parties and expensive used clothes from Value Village.

took mine at 23

CPP is confusing to me. I still don’t get it. I’m coming up to 62 and I’m wondering if I should take my CPP now? I was a stay at home mom for a few years, from the age of 18 and didn’t start work until I was 32 years old and not quite even full-time at 32 1/2 weeks for 10 years. For the last 20 years, I have only been working part time. Maybe 18 to 25 hours a week now. Looks like if I take it now, I would only get a couple hundred dollars a month because I have not worked full-time all my life! Doesn’t seem worth it to me but Should I take my CPP now or wait another three years when I’m 65 ? I’m 62 in November.

Not trying to be negative but why is that considered the "truth" about CPP? Everyone's situation is unique. It may be right for some people to take it early but my philosophy, and I'm 62, is to take it when I need it. If you take it too early and don't have sufficient sources of other income then you could end up dealing with significant poverty in your seventies and that's no fun either. As time goes buy living gets more expensive. There is no answer to "should I take CPP early?" that applies to everyone. Remember that once you take CPP, other than small annual cost of living increases, this source of income is essentially static. Just my thoughts on the matter.

I have found that ppl spend most of their lives preparing their 'ideal' retirement nest-egg but sacrifice their health in the process. Fact is only 3 in 10,000 will make the Centenarian Club and for the rest, the median avg age for life expectancy in Canada as of 2023 stats is 86yrs old. So that means for most ppl your mid-life starts at age 43. So prevailing wisdom would suggest that you look after yourself via 'life-style' intervention to prolong the benefits of your retirement.

My worry is the quality of where I'll be able to afford to live if I reach an age that I need to move in to a retirement living or even more supportive place.

Thinking of starting my cpp at 61 to maybe cover my taxes on my investment withdrawals?

Great Discussion. Here's what I found. I ran many projections of my plan. Taking CPP at 60, 65 and 70. Also adjusted our plan from 75 to 100 years of age. Looked at me passing away first and then my wife and vice-versa. Looked at different ages of death for first of us and also for second of us. After all this, there was no one correct age to take CPP that satisfied all the options. The CPP age depended on the situation. All to say, in our case anyways, we've decided on 65 to 67, all depending on if we are still working or need to withdraw RRSP's in our 60's, wanting more funds in our go-go and slow-go years, etc.. After doing all this I realized just pick some age that seems reasonable and live with it. You'll never know if it was correct anyways until after you've passed away.

Very good video.
Big point is what if you don’t need the money at the time you retire?
I would rather have a larger source of income available later in life to combat the ever increase n the cost of living waiting to 70 gives you a 40% increase to deal with the future acceleration of the cost of living.
Lots of opinions and techniques, many different scenarios for people to analyze.
Biggest takeaway from the video is “do the math”.

Thanks for your opinion. I’m looking at now 62 or 65…thoughts on this?

Investments are the roots of financial security; the deeper they grow, the stronger your future will be."

...While it is still available. There aren't enough imported Tim Horton's employees that aren't using food banks to pay in or maintain it. Government is the reason for importing taxpayers.....not you. The government wants to ensure their future.....not yours. A village never needed more mouths to feed to ensure survival....it needed balance. Government is the fat bully on the teeter-totter. No one likes him because he can't be fair while he's so damned fat. We all know bullies are psychopaths.

I have two pensions. I would much rather have had a Roth 401k throughout my working lifetime. $500/month invested from 25 - 65 at 9% is $2.3mil. I have $100k that i like to invest in a non-retirement account, Where would you invest this as of now?

Also, taking CPP earlier, can make your investments, work harder, longer, depends on a lot of variables.

Hi great video,! I will be 63 April, 2025, I have worked, I am on Disability, all of my earnings I send to ODSP,,. I have no idea, if I should apply now, or wait, til after 65,

Aaron, I have always planned for 70 to take CPP. You have me second guessing that plan. I do feel that average life expectancy will continue to decline. When you consider the amount of processed foods, environmental concerns, obesity etc.

This video is nails the CPP planning. Take it while you can enjoy the $$.

I will likely take it at 60. I have a defined benefit plan, OAS in the future.. I want the money at 60 when I can travel and enjoy. I might lose some later in life. But who knows if I make it and by then I won’t need as much money. I will likely downsize my house by then too.

This is the first video I've seen on this where the advisor "gets it"!! All studies show that spending is up in the early years of retirement and then drops off in the early to mid seventies. So you are going to have more money when you need it least. When to take CPP is not a math question (though it can be), it is a philosophical one.