Canadian retiree reviewing RRIF withdrawal statements at a home desk

RRIF Withdrawal Rules: Minimums by Age

Published Dec 19, 2025 • 7 min read • Retirement

If you have an RRSP, there's a date on the calendar you can't ignore: December 31 of the year you turn 71. That's the deadline to convert it into something else, and for most Canadians, that something else is a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF). Once it's a RRIF, the rules change. You stop contributing, and you start withdrawing — whether you need the money or not.

The CRA sets a minimum amount you have to take out every year, based on your age and the value of your RRIF on January 1. Take less than the minimum, and the math doesn't work. Take exactly the minimum, and there's no withholding tax. Take more, and a chunk gets held back at source. Layer in OAS clawback, CPP, and provincial tax differences, and what looked like a simple withdrawal can end up costing more than you expected.

This guide walks through how the minimums work, the actual percentages by age, and the practical decisions that come up once your RRIF is funding your retirement.

How RRIF Minimum Withdrawals Are Calculated

The formula is straightforward. On January 1 of each year, your RRIF has a fair market value. The CRA assigns a prescribed factor based on your age at the start of that year. Multiply the two, and that's your minimum withdrawal for the year.

A few rules that catch people off guard:

No minimum the year you open the RRIF. If you convert your RRSP in, say, October 2026, you don't have to take anything that calendar year. The first mandatory withdrawal is in 2027.
You can use a younger spouse's age. If your spouse or common-law partner is younger than you, you can elect to use their age to calculate the minimum. This must be set up when you open the RRIF, and once chosen, it can't be changed. A lower minimum means more money stays sheltered.
There's no maximum. Unlike a LIF (Life Income Fund) from a locked-in pension, a standard RRIF has no ceiling. You can withdraw the entire balance in one year if you want — though the tax bill will be brutal.
Minimums are not subject to withholding tax. But anything above the minimum is, at rates of 10%, 20%, or 30% depending on the amount (5%, 10%, 15% in Quebec, plus provincial withholding).

RRIF Minimum Withdrawal Percentages by Age

Here are the prescribed factors the CRA uses. These have been in place since the 2015 federal budget reduced the minimums to reflect longer life expectancies.

Ages 55 to 70 (pre-71 conversions)

Most people don't convert until 71, but some do it earlier — often to start income splitting at 65, which qualifies RRIF income for the pension income amount and pension splitting with a spouse.

Age 55: 2.86%
Age 60: 3.33%
Age 65: 4.00%
Age 68: 4.55%
Age 70: 5.00%

Before age 71, the factor is calculated as 1 ÷ (90 minus your age). After 71, the CRA uses a fixed schedule.

Ages 71 to 80 (the early RRIF years)

Age 71: 5.28%
Age 72: 5.40%
Age 73: 5.53%
Age 74: 5.67%
Age 75: 5.82%
Age 76: 5.98%
Age 77: 6.17%
Age 78: 6.36%
Age 79: 6.58%
Age 80: 6.82%

Ages 81 to 94 (the steeper climb)

Age 81: 7.08%
Age 83: 7.71%
Age 85: 8.51%
Age 87: 9.55%
Age 89: 10.99%
Age 90: 11.92%
Age 92: 14.49%
Age 94: 18.79%

Age 95 and older

The factor caps at 20.00%. From age 95 onward, you're required to withdraw at least one-fifth of the RRIF's value every January. In practice, this means most accounts get drawn down rapidly in the final years, which is partly the policy intent — the RRIF was never meant to be an estate-planning vehicle.

How RRIF Income Interacts With OAS and CPP

RRIF withdrawals are fully taxable as ordinary income. They show up on your T4RIF and roll into your total income for the year. That has two knock-on effects worth thinking about.

OAS clawback (the recovery tax): Old Age Security gets clawed back at 15 cents per dollar of net income above roughly $93,500 (the threshold rises slightly each year). Full OAS disappears at around $151,000 for most recipients. A large RRIF minimum can push retirees into clawback territory they didn't expect — especially in years when a spouse passes away and pension splitting is no longer available.

CPP is unaffected. Your CPP retirement pension isn't income-tested, so RRIF withdrawals don't reduce it. But CPP, OAS, and RRIF income stack together to determine your marginal tax rate, which can be higher than people assume once GIS, age amount, and provincial credits are factored in.

Pension income splitting helps. If you're 65 or older, up to 50% of your RRIF income can be split with a spouse on your tax returns, which often drops both partners into lower brackets.

Provincial Differences Worth Knowing

Federal rules set the minimum. Provincial rules shape the rest.

Quebec has its own withholding tax schedule on top of federal withholding, and Revenu Québec treats RRIF income under separate provincial rules. Quebec also operates under civil law rather than common law, which affects how RRIFs pass to beneficiaries and how marital property is treated.
Ontario charges Estate Administration Tax (probate) of roughly 1.5% on estates above $50,000. Naming a direct beneficiary on your RRIF — not just leaving it to your estate — keeps the RRIF out of probate.
British Columbia, Alberta, and the Prairies generally have lower probate fees, but the beneficiary designation still matters for speed and privacy of transfer.
Atlantic provinces follow similar beneficiary rules to Ontario, though probate fee structures vary.

One thing that's consistent across Canada: if you name your spouse as the successor annuitant (not just beneficiary), the RRIF transfers seamlessly on death and continues paying out without triggering tax. If you name them as beneficiary only, the funds are transferred but the RRIF technically collapses first — a small distinction that can matter for the timing of payments.

Choosing How and When to Withdraw

The minimum is a floor, not a target. Whether to take more depends on your full picture — other income sources, expected longevity, estate goals, and what your TFSA looks like.

A few patterns that come up in practice:

Withdrawing early to fill lower tax brackets. Some retirees in their late 60s pull more than the minimum from a RRSP or RRIF specifically because they're in a lower bracket than they will be at 71+ when minimums become mandatory and CPP/OAS are both flowing.
Moving surplus to a TFSA. If your RRIF minimum is more than you need to spend, contributing the excess to a TFSA shelters future growth from tax and keeps it out of OAS-clawback calculations.
Frequency matters less than people think. Monthly, quarterly, or annual withdrawals all hit the same tax outcome for the year. Monthly tends to smooth out cash flow; annual lump sums let the money grow longer inside the RRIF.
In-kind withdrawals are allowed. You don't have to sell investments to meet the minimum. You can transfer shares or ETFs in kind to a non-registered account, with the market value at transfer counted as your withdrawal. Useful if you don't want to be forced into a bad market.

Most major Canadian institutions — RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank, Sun Life, Manulife, Canada Life, Industrial Alliance — offer RRIFs with flexible payment schedules and free in-house transfers. Fees and minimums for the underlying investments are where they differ more than the RRIF mechanics themselves.

What Happens to a RRIF at Death

This is where careful naming pays off. Without a beneficiary, the full RRIF value collapses into income on the final tax return — potentially taxed at the top marginal rate (over 50% in some provinces). With a spouse named as successor annuitant or beneficiary, the rollover is tax-deferred. With a financially dependent child or grandchild (typically a minor or someone with a disability), partial rollovers are also available.

Adult children named as beneficiaries receive the funds, but the deceased's estate pays the tax. That can create friction if the estate doesn't have enough liquidity to cover the bill — something worth modelling before assuming a "tax-free inheritance."

If you're using insurance to help cover the projected tax hit on a large RRIF at death — a common strategy for parents who want to leave investments intact for adult children — it's worth comparing options across carriers. Get a Free Quote →

The Bottom Line

RRIF minimums are mechanical: a percentage times a balance, calculated once a year. The hard part isn't the math — it's deciding how the withdrawal fits into the rest of your retirement income. OAS clawback, pension splitting, probate planning, and beneficiary designations all interact with that number. A 5% minimum doesn't sound like much until you realize it's permanent, taxable, and rising every year.

Most people benefit from running the numbers once before age 71, then revisiting them every few years — especially after major changes like a spouse's death, a move between provinces, or a significant shift in portfolio value. The rules don't change often. Your situation does.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I don't withdraw the RRIF minimum?

The CRA requires the minimum to be paid out by December 31 each year. If your financial institution fails to issue it, they're on the hook for a penalty. In practice, banks and insurers automatically schedule the minimum, so it's almost impossible to miss it accidentally. If you somehow do under-withdraw, the shortfall gets corrected and taxed in the year it should have been paid.

Can I convert my RRSP to a RRIF before age 71?

Yes. You can convert any time after you have an RRSP, though most people wait. Common reasons to convert earlier include qualifying for the federal pension income amount at 65, enabling pension income splitting with a spouse, or smoothing income before CPP and OAS begin. Once converted, you can't contribute new money, so timing matters.

Is RRIF income eligible for pension splitting?

Yes, once you're 65 or older. Up to 50% of your RRIF income can be allocated to your spouse or common-law partner on your tax returns, which often reduces the combined tax bill. RRIF income before age 65 generally does not qualify for splitting, with limited exceptions on death of a spouse.

How is RRIF income taxed compared to TFSA withdrawals?

RRIF withdrawals are fully taxable as ordinary income and count toward OAS clawback thresholds. TFSA withdrawals are completely tax-free and don't appear on your tax return at all. That's why many Canadian retirees draw from RRIFs up to the minimum, then top up spending from TFSAs to avoid pushing into clawback territory.

What's the difference between a RRIF and a LIF?

A RRIF comes from a regular RRSP and has a minimum withdrawal but no maximum. A LIF (Life Income Fund) comes from a locked-in retirement account, usually from a former employer's pension. LIFs have both a minimum and a maximum withdrawal each year, with the maximum set by federal or provincial pension legislation depending on where the original pension was registered.