Example · Ontario
Winding down a doctor's corporation at 60
Jordan is a family doctor in Ontario, 45, with $1.4 million in a professional corporation, an IPP and an RRSP. The plan is to retire at 60. When should each pot start paying, and what does it cost to stop sooner?
The household
- The corporation bills $570,000 a year and pays Jordan a $188,000 salary plus $30,000 in dividends, until retirement.
- It holds $1.3 million invested, beside an IPP of $430,000 that pays a pension from 65.
- Jordan has $210,000 in an RRSP and $95,000 in a TFSA, and spends $7,000 a month to live, plus travel.
- On the way: a kitchen renovation at 48, help with Mom's home care from 50, a Muskoka cottage at 52 and a sabbatical in Europe at 55.
What Kilter found
As planned, Jordan's chance of success is 94%. Melting down the RRSP and paying extra dividends up to the OAS clawback threshold ($95,323) from 60 to 65 changes nothing here. Jordan's spending already draws at least $208,000 a year in dividends from the corporation then, so there are no low-income years to fill.
Starting the IPP at 60 and leaving CPP and OAS until 70 leaves an estate of $10.8 million after tax, about $199,000 more than as planned. The chance of success is 1 point higher.
Retiring at 58 instead puts the chance of success at 88%, 6 points lower, and the estate at $8.8 million.
| Choice | Chance of success | Estate after tax | Tax over a lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| As planned: IPP, CPP and OAS at 65 | 94% | $10.6 million | $8.2 million |
| IPP at 60, CPP and OAS at 70 | 95% | $10.8 million | $8.2 million |
| Retire at 58 instead | 88% | $8.8 million | $6.9 million |
Estate and tax in today's dollars, assuming typical returns. Tax is personal, corporate and at death.
- As planned: IPP, CPP and OAS at 65
- IPP at 60, CPP and OAS at 70
- Retire at 58 instead
- Half the simulations end inside the band (As planned: IPP, CPP and OAS at 65)
Why the order matters
An IPP started early pays a smaller pension for more years. CPP and OAS grow for each month they wait past 65, up to 70. Money left in the corporation is taxed again when it comes out as dividends, or at death. Which order leaves the most depends on the household, so Kilter works it out for each one rather than following a rule.
Open this household in KilterA free demo, no sign-up. Change anything you like.
How Kilter worked it out
Kilter ran this household month by month from November 2026 to the end of the plan, with each year's federal and provincial tax, the corporation's own 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. The household is made up from a real question. Open it as a demo to change anything and see it all recalculate.