When to start your CPP retirement pension
You can start the Canada Pension Plan retirement pension at any age from 60 to 70. The amount you are entitled to at 65 is the reference point, and the start date moves it up or down for life.
- Starting early: the pension is cut by 0.6 % for each month before 65, so 36 % less if you start at 60.
- Starting late: the pension rises by 0.7 % for each month after 65, so 42 % more if you wait until 70. There is no gain from waiting past 70.
Enter the monthly amount you would get at 65 (your Statement of Contributions in My Service Canada Account shows it) and two start ages. The calculator shows the monthly pension for each and the age at which the later start has paid out as much in total as the earlier one. Starting at 65 instead of 60 catches up at about 74; starting at 70 instead of 65 catches up at about 82. If you expect to live past the break-even age, waiting pays more over your lifetime.
The figures ignore tax and inflation indexing. Health, other income, a spouse's survivor benefit and the need for cash in your early sixties matter as much as the arithmetic.