Calculator
When to take your CPP or QPP
Start your pension at 60, 65, 70 or, with the QPP, as late as 72, and see what each does to your whole plan. Kilter works out your pension from your statement and your earnings, with every year's tax, across 2,000 simulations of markets.
Your numbers
Kilter works this out right here in your browser, so the numbers you type stay on your device.
What each choice leaves you
Worked out with 2,000 simulations for the numbers above.
Each choice is the same plan, with your CPP starting at a different age. Your OAS starts at 65 in each.
Starting your CPP at 65, your chance of success is 66%. You'd leave $572,000 after tax, and tax over a lifetime comes to $370,000.
Starting at 60 leaves $435,000 after tax, about $138,000 less than at 65. Tax over a lifetime comes to $333,000, about $37,000 less. The chance of success is 5 points lower.
Starting at 70 leaves $598,000 after tax, about $26,000 more than at 65. Tax over a lifetime comes to $378,000, about $7,000 more. The chance of success is 2 points higher.
| Choice | Chance of success | Estate after tax | Tax over a lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPP at 60 | 61% | $435,000 | $333,000$333,000 while you live, $0 at death |
| CPP at 65 | 66% | $572,000 | $370,000$367,000 while you live, $3,000 at death |
| CPP at 70 | 68% | $598,000 | $378,000$371,000 while you live, $6,000 at death |
Estate and tax in today's dollars, assuming typical returns.
- CPP at 60
- CPP at 65
- CPP at 70
- Half the simulations end inside the band (CPP at 60)
Why the answer depends on the rest of your plan
Your pension isn't fixed at your statement's estimate. Kilter works it out the way the CPP and QPP laws do. Each year you earn from work until it starts adds to it, up to a yearly maximum. Years without earnings after you retire can lower it.
The CPP leaves out your lowest 17% of months, and the QPP 15%. The CPP takes 0.6% off for each month before 65 and adds 0.7% for each month after, up to 70. The QPP takes 0.5% to 0.6% off a month before 65, more for a bigger pension, and adds 0.7% a month after, up to 72.
A pension that starts later is bigger but paid for fewer years, and your savings carry you until then. How that plays out depends on your savings, your spending, your other income and your tax each year. That's why Kilter projects the whole plan for each age rather than comparing the pensions alone.
Your own plan
This calculator is one person and a few numbers. A plan in Kilter has your real accounts, your partner, your home and every event ahead, worked out the same way, and the assistant to try ideas with.
How Kilter works it out
Kilter runs your numbers month by month from November 2026 to age 95, with each year's federal and provincial tax and the tax at death. The chance of success is the share of 2,000 market simulations in which every expense is paid. Everything else assumes typical returns, in today's dollars with 2.5% inflation. Every account is invested 80% in stocks and 20% in bonds. It's one person, without a partner, children or a home.