RRIF minimum withdrawals: how the factors work, year by year

How the minimum is calculated

Each year, the minimum is your RRIF's market value on January 1 multiplied by the prescribed factor for your age at the start of that year. If your balance was $200,000 on January 1 and your factor was 5.00%, the minimum for the year would be $10,000.

For ages 70 and under, the factor is a formula: 1 divided by (90 minus your age). At 65 that's 1 ÷ 25, or 4.00%; at 70 it's 1 ÷ 20, or 5.00%. From 71 on, the CRA publishes a table of factors that climb more steeply in later years.

There's no minimum in the calendar year the RRIF is opened. That gives some flexibility in timing, especially for people converting in the year they turn 71.

The factor table

Here are selected factors. Ages not shown follow the same pattern; the RRIF minimum calculator uses every year's factor.

Elaine's schedule from 65

Suppose Elaine converted her RRSP to a RRIF last year and has $300,000 in it on January 1 of the year she turns 65. The table below assumes an illustrative 5% annual return and that she withdraws exactly the minimum each year.

Her first minimum is $12,000 (4.00%). At 5% growth, the balance stays near $300,000 through her late 60s, because the minimum is about the same as the growth. At 71 the minimum is about $16,133, at 80 about $18,761 and at 90 about $21,872. By then the balance is shrinking each year, and after her withdrawal at 95 about $87,513 would remain.

Those dollar figures are nominal and depend entirely on the return assumption. With a lower return, the balance would fall sooner; with a higher one, minimums would be larger. The pattern — a slow start and a steep rise in the factors after 85 — holds either way.

Notice how much the factor alone moves the minimum early on. At 70, Elaine's required withdrawal would be about $15,315 (5.00%), more than a quarter higher than at 65, even though her balance has barely changed.

Using a younger spouse's age

When the RRIF is set up, you can elect to base the minimum on your spouse's or common-law partner's age instead of your own. If your spouse is younger, the factor is lower, and so is the required withdrawal.

Elaine's husband, Raymond, is five years younger. Basing her RRIF on Raymond's age of 60 would make her first minimum $10,000 (3.33%) instead of $12,000. In the same illustration, her minimum would be about $12,763 when she is 70 and about $18,357 at 80, and about $180,483 would remain after her withdrawal at 95, compared with about $87,513 using her own age.

Lower minimums mean less required taxable income in earlier years, but they don't stop Elaine from withdrawing more when she wants to. The election is generally made when the RRIF is opened, so check with your financial institution about timing.

The minimum is a floor, not a target

The prescribed minimum is the least you must take. You can withdraw more at any time, and many retirees do when spending needs are higher early in retirement or when they want to smooth taxable income over the years.

Withdrawals above the minimum generally have tax withheld at source by the financial institution, while the minimum itself generally doesn't. Withholding is a prepayment, so you may owe more or get some back when you file. Confirm current withholding rules with the CRA or your institution.

Taking more than the minimum in lower-income years, such as before CPP and OAS begin, is one way people try to even out taxable income across retirement. Our RRSP meltdown guide explains the trade-offs.

Locked-in accounts such as life income funds use similar minimums but also have a maximum yearly withdrawal, set by the pension legislation that applies to the account. Confirm those limits with your plan or financial institution.

How minimums interact with tax and benefits

RRIF withdrawals are taxable income, so rising minimums in your 80s can lift taxable income just as other sources stay flat. For higher-income retirees, that can push net income toward the 2026 OAS recovery threshold of $95,323.

Couples have extra tools. From 65, up to 50% of RRIF income can be allocated to a spouse on the tax return through pension income splitting, which can lower the higher-income spouse's tax and clawback exposure. The pension income splitting tool estimates the effect.

For lower-income retirees, RRIF withdrawals count as income for the GIS. TFSA withdrawals don't, which can make the balance between the two accounts matter more. See our TFSA in retirement guide.

Quebec residents follow the same federal RRIF minimum rules. Our tax estimates for Quebec, however, include only federal tax, not Quebec provincial income tax.

Common misunderstandings about RRIF minimums

A few points about the minimum regularly cause confusion:

• The minimum is fixed for the year. It's based on the January 1 value, so a market drop in March doesn't lower that year's minimum, and a rise doesn't increase it.
• Taking only the minimum doesn't make a RRIF last forever. In Elaine's example, the factors climb steeply in her late 80s and 90s, and the balance declines even with steady growth.
• Extra withdrawals don't change the factor. Taking more one year lowers the balance the next year's factor applies to, but the percentage itself still depends only on age.
• A spouse's age changes the minimum only. Electing a younger spouse's age doesn't change who owns the RRIF or whose income the withdrawals are.
• Several RRIFs means several minimums. Each RRIF has its own minimum based on its own balance, though institutions can usually consolidate accounts if you ask.

Planning around the schedule

Because the factors are known in advance, the minimum schedule is one of the more predictable parts of retirement income. Mapping it out alongside CPP, OAS and any pension can show the years when taxable income is likely to peak.

The retirement plan tool projects RRIF minimums together with other income, and the withdrawal order tool compares different ways of drawing on RRIFs, TFSAs and non-registered accounts. For the conversion itself, see converting an RRSP to a RRIF.