Choose When to Start Your Benefits
See how different benefit start ages may affect your projected income over time.
The timing of government retirement benefits can have a major impact on annual income, lifetime income, break-even points, and survivor planning. This section allows you to choose when you expect to begin receiving benefits and compare how those decisions may affect your projected retirement cash flow.
CPP contribution recovery and break-even points are estimates only. Actual results may vary based on your official record, inflation adjustments, survivor benefits, and future program rules.
From My Service Canada Account. If "No", we'll estimate it from your contribution quality below.
Projected with 2% annual CPI indexing from the 2026 base amount, forward 5 years to age 65 (2031). Indexing continues annually after start.
CPP projection uses the entered estimate × Service Canada timing factor. Actual CPP depends on the contributor's record.
Total CPP income received by different start ages (60 / 62 / 65 / 67 / 70). Delaying increases monthly payments but shortens the collection period. Projected with 2% annual CPI indexing from 2026 base amounts — amounts at later start ages are inflated forward to that calendar year. The Y-axis is locked at $1.4M so you can directly compare the impact of start age and contribution quality. Gold bars show cumulative benefits to age 85; blue bars show cumulative benefits to age 95.
The age at which delaying CPP catches up to starting earlier in cumulative payments.
Live longer than the break-even age and the later start age wins. Live shorter and the earlier start wins. Excludes taxes, OAS clawback, and CPI indexing.
Uses historical YMPE and employee contribution rates through 2026, then projects future maximum pensionable earnings at 2.5%/yr until the selected CPP start age or age 65. Educational only — your actual CPP comes from your Service Canada Statement of Contributions.
Working ages 18–116: past/current contributions through about age 116, then projected to the CPP start age or age 65.
- Approx. recovery age: 65 — when cumulative indexed benefits first exceed total contributions.
- Total estimated contributions (employee only): $82,496, including $0 of future assumed contributions.
- Net benefit at age 85: $294,477.
- IRR is the single annualized cash-flow rate that makes the contribution outflows and projected CPP benefit inflows break even in today's calculation. It is not an investment return you earn in an account.
- Equivalent annualized return on your CPP contributions: 81.25% (benefits are fully taxable as income in retirement).
Year-by-year contributions (61 years)
| Year | Age | YMPE | Earnings used | Base contrib. | CPP2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 56 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $79 | — | $79 |
| 1967 | 57 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $79 | — | $79 |
| 1968 | 58 | $5,100 | $5,100 | $81 | — | $81 |
| 1969 | 59 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $83 | — | $83 |
| 1970 | 60 | $5,300 | $5,300 | $85 | — | $85 |
| 1971 | 61 | $5,400 | $5,400 | $86 | — | $86 |
| 1972 | 62 | $5,500 | $5,500 | $88 | — | $88 |
| 1973 | 63 | $5,900 | $5,900 | $94 | — | $94 |
| 1974 | 64 | $6,600 | $6,600 | $106 | — | $106 |
| 1975 | 65 | $7,400 | $7,400 | $121 | — | $121 |
| 1976 | 66 | $8,300 | $8,300 | $135 | — | $135 |
| 1977 | 67 | $9,300 | $9,300 | $151 | — | $151 |
| 1978 | 68 | $10,400 | $10,400 | $169 | — | $169 |
| 1979 | 69 | $11,700 | $11,700 | $191 | — | $191 |
| 1980 | 70 | $13,100 | $13,100 | $212 | — | $212 |
| 1981 | 71 | $14,700 | $14,700 | $239 | — | $239 |
| 1982 | 72 | $16,500 | $16,500 | $268 | — | $268 |
| 1983 | 73 | $18,500 | $18,500 | $301 | — | $301 |
| 1984 | 74 | $20,800 | $20,800 | $338 | — | $338 |
| 1985 | 75 | $23,400 | $23,400 | $380 | — | $380 |
| 1986 | 76 | $25,800 | $25,800 | $419 | — | $419 |
| 1987 | 77 | $25,900 | $25,900 | $445 | — | $445 |
| 1988 | 78 | $26,500 | $26,500 | $478 | — | $478 |
| 1989 | 79 | $27,700 | $27,700 | $525 | — | $525 |
| 1990 | 80 | $28,900 | $28,900 | $574 | — | $574 |
| 1991 | 81 | $30,500 | $30,500 | $633 | — | $633 |
| 1992 | 82 | $32,200 | $32,200 | $696 | — | $696 |
| 1993 | 83 | $33,400 | $33,400 | $753 | — | $753 |
| 1994 | 84 | $34,400 | $34,400 | $806 | — | $806 |
| 1995 | 85 | $34,900 | $34,900 | $851 | — | $851 |
| 1996 | 86 | $35,400 | $35,400 | $893 | — | $893 |
| 1997 | 87 | $35,800 | $35,800 | $969 | — | $969 |
| 1998 | 88 | $36,900 | $36,900 | $1,069 | — | $1,069 |
| 1999 | 89 | $37,400 | $37,400 | $1,187 | — | $1,187 |
| 2000 | 90 | $37,600 | $37,600 | $1,330 | — | $1,330 |
| 2001 | 91 | $38,300 | $38,300 | $1,496 | — | $1,496 |
| 2002 | 92 | $39,100 | $39,100 | $1,673 | — | $1,673 |
| 2003 | 93 | $39,900 | $39,900 | $1,802 | — | $1,802 |
| 2004 | 94 | $40,500 | $40,500 | $1,832 | — | $1,832 |
| 2005 | 95 | $41,100 | $41,100 | $1,861 | — | $1,861 |
| 2006 | 96 | $42,100 | $42,100 | $1,911 | — | $1,911 |
| 2007 | 97 | $43,700 | $43,700 | $1,990 | — | $1,990 |
| 2008 | 98 | $44,900 | $44,900 | $2,049 | — | $2,049 |
| 2009 | 99 | $46,300 | $46,300 | $2,119 | — | $2,119 |
| 2010 | 100 | $47,200 | $47,200 | $2,163 | — | $2,163 |
| 2011 | 101 | $48,300 | $48,300 | $2,218 | — | $2,218 |
| 2012 | 102 | $50,100 | $50,100 | $2,307 | — | $2,307 |
| 2013 | 103 | $51,100 | $51,100 | $2,356 | — | $2,356 |
| 2014 | 104 | $52,500 | $52,500 | $2,426 | — | $2,426 |
| 2015 | 105 | $53,600 | $53,600 | $2,480 | — | $2,480 |
| 2016 | 106 | $54,900 | $54,900 | $2,544 | — | $2,544 |
| 2017 | 107 | $55,300 | $55,300 | $2,564 | — | $2,564 |
| 2018 | 108 | $55,900 | $55,900 | $2,594 | — | $2,594 |
| 2019 | 109 | $57,400 | $57,400 | $2,749 | — | $2,749 |
| 2020 | 110 | $58,700 | $58,700 | $2,898 | — | $2,898 |
| 2021 | 111 | $61,600 | $61,600 | $3,166 | — | $3,166 |
| 2022 | 112 | $64,900 | $64,900 | $3,500 | — | $3,500 |
| 2023 | 113 | $66,600 | $66,600 | $3,754 | — | $3,754 |
| 2024 | 114 | $68,500 | $73,200 | $3,868 | $188 | $4,056 |
| 2025 | 115 | $71,300 | $81,200 | $4,034 | $396 | $4,430 |
| 2026 | 116 | $74,600 | $85,000 | $4,230 | $416 | $4,646 |
IRR & disclaimer
CPP is not a personal investment account. Contributions help fund retirement, disability, survivor, children's, and post-retirement benefits. This compares approximate CPP retirement income received against estimated CPP contributions paid during working years. Verify actual figures with Service Canada and CRA.
Maximum is roughly age 18 to 65 (~47 yrs); actual contribution history varies.
Auto includes CPP2 only if quality is Full or Mostly full.
Employee only
Based on a low estimate| Age | CPP received | Net vs contrib. |
|---|---|---|
| 85 | $351,667 | +$202,980 |
| 90 | $463,589 | +$314,902 |
| 95 | $587,160 | +$438,473 |
| 100 | $723,592 | +$574,906 |
CPP recovery estimate
Projected with 2% annual CPI indexing from the 2026 base ($743.05/mo at 65), forward 5 years. The permanent +10% age-75 increase is applied to the inflated amount when you reach 75.
Calculated from the income sources you entered on Step 2 plus projected CPP. is excluded by GIS rules; withdrawals are also excluded. Edit income sources on the previous step to change this number.
Used as a soft prompt: if "Yes" but income above suggests otherwise, we flag a mismatch on the dashboard.
GIS is non-taxable but tightly income-tested. This is an estimate, not a guarantee — verify via Service Canada.
Survivor & provincial benefit prompts