RRIF Minimum Withdrawal Table

1. What the RRIF Minimum Withdrawal Is

The purpose. An RRSP lets you save for retirement and defer tax. A registered retirement income fund (RRIF) is the account that pays that money back out. The tax rules require a RRIF to pay you a minimum amount every year so the deferred tax is eventually collected. You can always take more than the minimum, but never less.

What the minimum depends on. Two things set it: the value of the RRIF at the start of the year and a prescribed factor for the annuitant’s age (or the spouse’s age, if elected). Your income, your other savings and how the investments perform during the year do not change that year’s minimum. Markets affect next year’s minimum through the next January 1 value.

There is no maximum. A RRIF has a floor but no ceiling. You can take the whole balance in one year if you want, though every dollar is taxable and amounts above the minimum have tax withheld. Only locked-in versions, such as a life income fund (LIF), have a yearly maximum; section 11 covers them.

Each RRIF has its own minimum. If you hold more than one RRIF, each plan works out its own minimum from its own January 1 value. Combining RRIFs at one institution makes the payments simpler to track.

The minimum is an annual total. The yearly minimum can be paid as one amount or spread over the year in instalments, as your plan allows. What matters for tax is the total paid out by December 31.

2. RRIF Minimum Withdrawal Table for 2026: Factors From 55 to 95 and Over

Where the RRIF factors come from. For ages 70 and under, the factor is 1 divided by (90 minus your age at the start of the year). For ages 71 and over, the factors come from the Canada Revenue Agency’s chart of prescribed factors. These are the factors in use for 2026, and they match the factor table from the 2015 federal budget.

How to read the table. Find your age on January 1 of the year, or your spouse’s age if you made that election. Multiply the factor by your RRIF’s value on January 1. The dollar columns show the result for a $100,000 and a $400,000 RRIF. For ages 70 and under, the dollar figures use the exact formula, so they can differ by a few dollars from the rounded percentage (for example, at 58 the factor is 1 / 32 = 3.125%, shown as 3.13%).

One small exception. CRA’s chart has a separate column for older plans it calls qualifying RRIFs. At age 71 that column shows 5.26% instead of 5.28%. Most RRIFs opened today use the “all other RRIFs” factors shown here.

3. How the RRIF Minimum Withdrawal Is Calculated

The formula. Minimum for the year = fair market value of the RRIF at the start of the year x the prescribed factor. The value is taken on January 1, after any December payments, and includes every investment in the plan at market value.

Which age to use. The factor uses your age at the start of the year, not the age you reach on your birthday later that year. Someone born in 1955 turns 71 in 2026 and is 71 on January 1, 2027, so the 2027 minimum uses the age-71 factor of 5.28%.

Example at 65. A RRIF worth $300,000 on January 1 for someone aged 65 at the start of the year: 1 / (90 – 65) = 1 / 25 = 4.00%. Minimum: $300,000 x 4.00% = $12,000.

Example at 78. A RRIF worth $250,000 on January 1 for someone aged 78: factor 6.36%. Minimum: $250,000 x 6.36% = $15,900.

What changes next year. Next year’s minimum uses next January’s value and the next factor. If the investments earn less than the factor plus any extra withdrawals, the balance falls. The factors rise every year after 71, so the minimum as a percentage keeps climbing, reaching 20% from age 95.

4. RRIF Withdrawal Rules on Timing: When the First Minimum Is Due

The age 71 deadline. December 31 of the year you turn 71 is the last day you can contribute to your own RRSP and the last day it can exist as an RRSP. By then you must transfer it to a RRIF, use it to buy an annuity, take it out as cash, or combine those options. A direct transfer to a RRIF has no tax withheld; a cash withdrawal does.

No minimum in the first year. The first minimum payment is due in the calendar year after the RRIF is set up. A RRIF opened in November 2026 needs no payment in 2026; its first minimum is due in 2027, based on its value on January 1, 2027.

You can start earlier. Nothing stops you from converting before 71. The formula for ages 70 and under exists for that reason: at 60 the factor is 1 / 30 = 3.33%, and at 65 it is 4.00%. Converting at 65 can make sense to use the pension income amount, which RRIF income qualifies for from 65.

Payment dates. You choose with your issuer when payments arrive: one payment a year, or monthly or quarterly instalments, as the plan allows. The tax rule only requires that the total paid by December 31 reaches the minimum. A December payment leaves the money invested longer; monthly payments give a steady income.

5. Using a Younger Spouse’s Age

The election. When you set up a RRIF, you can elect to have the minimum based on the age of your spouse or common-law partner instead of your own. If your spouse is younger, the factor is lower, so the required minimum is lower and more money stays sheltered. The election is made when the RRIF is set up, so please decide before you sign the application.

How much it changes. On a $400,000 RRIF, a 72-year-old’s own factor of 5.40% gives a minimum of $21,600. With a spouse who is 65 at the start of the year, the factor is 4.00% and the minimum is $16,000, which is $5,600 less. With a spouse of 60, the factor is 1 / 30 and the minimum is $13,333.33.

Who it suits. The election helps someone who does not need the full minimum to live on and wants to defer tax, or who wants to keep income below the OAS recovery threshold. It suits less well someone who plans to take more than the minimum anyway, because the election only lowers the floor.

What it does not change. The RRIF stays yours, the income is still taxed in your hands (unless split under the pension income splitting rules), and there is still no maximum. You can take more than the reduced minimum in any year. Amounts above the reduced minimum have tax withheld at the lump-sum rates.

6. Converting an RRSP to a RRIF

Your three options at 71. By the end of the year you turn 71, every RRSP dollar must go one of three ways: transferred to a RRIF, used to buy an annuity, or withdrawn. Many people transfer most or all of it to a RRIF because it keeps the money invested and lets them control withdrawals above the minimum. See our RRSP guide for how the RRSP side works.

The transfer itself. A direct transfer from your RRSP to your RRIF is not taxed and has no tax withheld. Investments can usually move in kind, so you do not have to sell. Many people open the RRIF at the same institution that holds the RRSP, which keeps the paperwork short. Our guide to transferring an investment account explains how a move between institutions works.

Last contributions. December 31 of the year you turn 71 is the last day to contribute to your own RRSP. If you have unused room and earned income, a final contribution before the conversion can still give a deduction. If your spouse or partner is younger, you can keep contributing to a spousal RRSP until the end of the year they turn 71. Our RRSP contribution limit page explains the room rules.

FHSA balances. Money in a first home savings account that will not be used for a home can be transferred directly to an RRSP or RRIF without tax and without using RRSP room, as long as there is no excess FHSA amount. See our FHSA guide.

Choosing what to convert. You do not have to convert everything at once before 71. Some people convert part of their RRSP at 65 to use the pension income amount and keep the rest in the RRSP until the deadline.

7. Withholding Tax on RRIF Withdrawals

No withholding on the minimum. The issuer does not withhold income tax from the minimum amount. That is a rule for the payer, not a tax exemption: the minimum is still taxable income, so you may owe tax when you file. You can ask the issuer to withhold tax from the minimum voluntarily if you prefer to pay as you go.

Withholding above the minimum. Anything you take above the minimum is treated like a lump-sum withdrawal. Outside Quebec, the excess has tax withheld at 10% if it is $5,000 or less, 20% if it is over $5,000 up to $15,000, and 30% if it is over $15,000.

Quebec residents. For Quebec residents, federal withholding on the excess is 5%, 10% or 15% at the same bands, and Quebec tax is withheld at 14% on top. The minimum itself has no withholding for Quebec either.

Withholding is not the final tax. The amount withheld is a prepayment. When you file, your actual tax depends on your total income and credits. A retiree in a high bracket may owe more than was withheld; one with low income may get some back.

For a Quebec resident taking $35,000, the $8,000 excess has $800 of federal tax (10%) and $1,120 of Quebec tax (14%) withheld, $1,920 in total.

8. How RRIF Income Is Taxed

Fully taxable. Every dollar paid out of a RRIF, minimum or not, is added to your income for the year and taxed at your marginal rate. The issuer reports it on a tax slip after year-end. Nothing in a RRIF is a tax-free return of your own money, because the original RRSP contributions were deducted.

Growth inside stays sheltered. While money stays in the RRIF, interest, dividends and capital gains are not taxed. That is why taking only the minimum, when you can afford to, keeps more money compounding tax-deferred.

Plan for the tax bill. Because nothing is withheld on the minimum, retirees who live on RRIF minimums plus CPP and OAS can face a balance owing in April. Two ways to manage it: ask the issuer to withhold a set percentage from each payment, or set aside part of each payment. If your balance owing is large, the CRA may ask you to pay quarterly instalments in later years.

In-kind withdrawals. A RRIF payment can often be made in kind, by moving investments to a non-registered account or TFSA instead of selling them. The value moved counts as the withdrawal and is taxed the same way as cash. If you have TFSA room, moving the after-tax amount into a TFSA keeps future growth tax-free.

Estimate your tax. Our RRSP tax refund calculator uses 2026 federal and provincial brackets, and the same marginal rates apply to RRIF income. Our TFSA vs RRSP comparison shows why the tax rate at withdrawal matters so much.

9. Pension Income Amount and Pension Splitting

The pension income amount. RRIF payments count as eligible pension income from age 65, or earlier if received because of a spouse’s or partner’s death. That lets you claim the federal pension income amount: the lesser of $2,000 and your eligible pension income. At the 2026 federal credit rate of 14%, a full claim is worth $2,000 x 14% = $280 off federal tax.

Pension income splitting. You can allocate up to 50% of eligible pension income to your spouse or common-law partner on your tax returns. RRIF and LIF payments qualify when the transferring spouse is 65 or older at the end of the year. Both of you must be residents of Canada on December 31 and not living apart because of a breakdown of the relationship, and you file a joint election on Form T1032 with both returns.

Why it helps. Splitting moves income from the spouse in the higher bracket to the one in the lower bracket. It can also lower the transferring spouse’s net income, which reduces or removes OAS recovery tax.

A worked comparison (federal only). This example is hypothetical. Raj, 72, has net income of $132,045, including a $40,000 RRIF minimum. Priya has $30,000. Raj allocates $20,000 of RRIF income to Priya. Using 2026 federal brackets before credits, Raj’s federal tax falls by $4,925 ($15,000 x 26% + $5,000 x 20.5%), and Priya’s rises by $2,800 ($20,000 x 14%). The federal saving is $2,125. Raj’s OAS recovery tax also falls by $3,000 (15% x $20,000), from $5,508.30 to $2,508.30. Provincial tax, credits and the deduction for the OAS repayment itself change the totals further.

10. RRIF Withdrawals and the OAS Clawback

How the clawback works. Old Age Security has a recovery tax, often called the clawback. For the 2026 income year, if your net world income is above $95,323, you repay 15% of the amount above that threshold. The repayment is taken from OAS payments from July 2027 to June 2028. Service Canada estimates that OAS is fully recovered at net income of $155,320 for ages 65 to 74 and $161,320 for 75 and over.

Why RRIFs matter here. RRIF minimums rise every year after 71, and they are fully taxable. A large RRIF can push net income over the threshold in later years even if it did not at 71. Every RRIF dollar above the threshold costs your marginal tax rate plus 15% in OAS recovery.

A hypothetical example. Helen, 72, has CPP of $12,000, OAS of $9,150 (12 x $762.50, the October to December 2026 maximum for ages 65 to 74, used for every month for simplicity), a company pension of $51,773 and a RRIF minimum of $32,400 ($600,000 x 5.40%). Net income: $12,000 + $9,150 + $51,773 + $32,400 = $105,323. That is $10,000 above $95,323, so the OAS recovery is $10,000 x 15% = $1,500. If Helen took $10,000 more from her RRIF, the recovery would rise to $3,000.

Ways to manage it. Splitting RRIF income with a lower-income spouse, using the younger-spouse election, drawing more from the RRIF in years before OAS starts or before 71, and using TFSA withdrawals (which are not income) for large expenses can all reduce net income. You can run your own figures in the OAS clawback calculator below.

Enter your expected net income to see how much OAS you would repay.

Payment dates for OAS and CPP are on our CPP and OAS payment dates page.

11. LIF Minimum and Maximum Withdrawals

What a LIF is. A life income fund holds locked-in pension money, usually moved from a pension plan or a locked-in retirement account (LIRA). It works like a RRIF, with the same yearly minimum, but it also has a yearly maximum so the money lasts.

Federal LIFs: the minimum. For a LIF under federal pension law, the minimum is the same as the RRIF minimum under the Income Tax Act: January 1 value x the factor in the table above. If you do not choose an amount, the minimum is paid each year.

Federal LIFs: the maximum. Before 90, the yearly maximum is set by a formula that divides the fund balance by an annuity factor. From the year the holder turns 90, there is no cap and the whole balance can be paid out.

Provincial LIFs. Many LIFs hold pension money regulated by a province, and their maximum and other rules follow that province’s pension law. We have not listed provincial maximums here. Please ask your LIF issuer for this year’s maximum, which it can calculate for you.

Withholding on a LIF. LIF payments are taxed like RRIF payments, and amounts above the minimum are withheld at the same lump-sum rates. LIF payments also qualify for pension income splitting when the transferring spouse is 65 or older. Our list of the best LIRA accounts covers where locked-in money can be held.

12. Where to Hold a RRIF and How It Is Protected

Your choices. A RRIF can be held at a bank or credit union (often in GICs and savings deposits), at an online brokerage (self-directed, holding ETFs, stocks, bonds and GICs), or with a robo-advisor (managed portfolios). Our ranking of the best RRIF accounts in Canada compares costs and features, and our robo-advisor comparison covers managed options.

Self-directed RRIFs. At a brokerage, you choose the investments and must hold enough cash, or sell enough, to pay each minimum. Our reviews of Questrade, TD Direct Investing and RBC Direct Investing list each broker’s registered accounts and fees. Wealthsimple lists RRIFs among both its self-directed accounts and its managed accounts; see our Wealthsimple review.

CDIC deposit insurance. Eligible deposits and GICs in a RRIF at a CDIC member are insured as their own category, up to $100,000 per member institution, separate from your other deposit categories. CDIC does not cover mutual funds, stocks, bonds, ETFs or crypto. Current GIC rates are on our best GIC rates page.

CIPF coverage. At a brokerage that is a CIPF member, your RRSPs, RRIFs and LIFs are covered together up to $1,000,000, separate from your general accounts. CIPF covers property missing if a member firm fails, not market losses.

Fees and cash for payments. Ask whether the issuer charges for RRIF payments or transfers, and whether it can pay monthly. Keeping one or two years of minimums in cash or short GICs means you do not have to sell investments after a market fall to make a payment. Our advertiser disclosure explains how WealthScale is paid.

13. Common RRIF Minimum Withdrawal Mistakes

Missing the age 71 deadline. If an RRSP is not converted, used for an annuity or withdrawn by December 31 of the year you turn 71, its full value can become taxable income in a single year. Set a reminder for the year you turn 71.

Forgetting the spouse election. The younger-spouse election is made when the RRIF is set up. A couple who opens the plan without asking about it may pay higher minimums for decades.

Assuming no withholding means no tax. The minimum has no tax withheld, but it is fully taxable. Retirees who take only the minimum can owe a large balance in April.

Selling at the wrong time. A RRIF that holds only stocks may have to sell after a market fall to make the minimum. Holding a cash or GIC reserve for upcoming payments avoids forced sales.

Ignoring the OAS threshold. Large extra withdrawals in one year can push net income above $95,323 (2026 income year) and cost 15% of the excess in OAS recovery, on top of income tax.

Not splitting. Couples where one spouse has much more RRIF income can lose money every year by not filing Form T1032 once the transferring spouse is 65.

What You Need and What You Get

How RRIF Withdrawals Work, Step by Step

1. Open the RRIF by December 31 of the year you turn 71. Transfer your RRSP directly so no tax is withheld.
2. Decide on the age election. Use a younger spouse’s age if you want lower minimums. It is set when the plan is opened.
3. Skip the first year. No minimum is due in the year the RRIF is set up.
4. Each January, find the minimum. January 1 value x the factor for your age (or your spouse’s) at the start of the year.
5. Choose your payment schedule. Monthly, quarterly or yearly, as long as the year’s total reaches the minimum.
6. Take more only when it helps. Amounts above the minimum are withheld at 10%, 20% or 30% outside Quebec.
7. File and split. Claim the pension income amount from 65 and consider splitting on Form T1032.

10 RRIF Withdrawal Strategies

Illustrative Example: A $500,000 RRIF From 71 to 95

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