This page explains how the start ages for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement pension and the Old Age Security (OAS) pension work, and what starting early or late does to the money. It is education, not financial or tax advice. Your own CPP estimate at every start age is in My Service Canada Account, and your contribution history is on your CPP Statement of Contributions; check both before choosing a date.
What is the retirement age in Canada?
The retirement age in Canada is a range, not a single number. The CPP retirement pension can start at any age from 60 to 70, with 65 as the standard age, and the OAS pension can start at any age from 65 to 70. Nothing in federal law makes you stop working at 65, and you can start CPP and OAS at different ages.
| Program | Earliest start | Standard age | Latest useful start | What changes with timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPP retirement pension | 60 | 65 | 70 | 0.6% less per month before 65 (36% less at 60); 0.7% more per month after 65 (42% more at 70) |
| Old Age Security pension | 65 | 65 | 70 | No early option; 0.6% more per month after 65 (36% more at 70) |
| Guaranteed Income Supplement | 65 (with OAS) | 65 | Not deferrable | Does not increase if OAS is deferred |
| RRSP | Any age | Not applicable | End of the year you turn 71 | Last RRSP contribution is December 31 of the year you turn 71; the RRSP then has to be withdrawn, moved to a RRIF or used to buy an annuity |
People who worked only in Quebec, or who worked in Quebec and another province and now live in Quebec, deal with the Québec Pension Plan (QPP) through Retraite Québec instead of CPP. The QPP has its own rules for early and late starts, so the CPP figures on this page do not apply to it.
What is the average retirement age in Canada?
The average retirement age in Canada was 65.4 in 2025, according to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey, and the median was 65.3. When people actually stop work depends heavily on who they work for, as the table shows.
How to read this table: ages are in years and describe people who retired during 2025, as estimated by the Labour Force Survey.
| Class of worker | Average age, all | Average age, men | Average age, women | Median age, all |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All retirees | 65.4 | 66.2 | 64.5 | 65.3 |
| Public sector employees | 62.6 | 62.3 | 62.7 | 61.8 |
| Private sector employees | 66 | 66.3 | 65.4 | 65.4 |
| Self-employed | 68.4 | 69.2 | 66.7 | 67.4 |
Source: Retirement age by class of worker, annual — Table 14-10-0060-01 (Statistics Canada); Table 14-10-0060-01, CSV download (average age, total all retirees, 2025); Table 14-10-0060-01, CSV download (average age by class of worker, 2025); Table 14-10-0060-01, CSV download (median age, total all retirees, 2025). In effect from January 9, 2026; checked September 30, 2026.
The average has risen every year from 2021 to 2025:
How to read this table: Statistics Canada corrected these estimates for every year in November 2025, so older figures quoted elsewhere may not match.
| Year | Average retirement age |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 64.3 |
| 2022 | 64.7 |
| 2023 | 65.1 |
| 2024 | 65.3 |
| 2025 | 65.4 |
Source: Retirement age by class of worker, annual — Table 14-10-0060-01 (Statistics Canada); Table 14-10-0060-01, CSV download (average age, total all retirees, 2025); Table 14-10-0060-01, CSV download (average age by class of worker, 2025); Table 14-10-0060-01, CSV download (median age, total all retirees, 2025). In effect from January 9, 2026; checked September 30, 2026.
Retiring from work and starting CPP are separate decisions. Plenty of people stop working at 62 and live on savings until CPP starts later, and plenty keep working part time after CPP starts.
How much does CPP change if you start at 60, 65 or 70?
CPP is reduced by 0.6% for each month you start before your 65th birthday and increased by 0.7% for each month you start after it. That works out to 7.2% less per year of early start and 8.4% more per year of delay. The change is permanent: a pension started at 60 stays reduced for life, and a pension started at 70 keeps its increase for life.
The table applies ESDC’s adjustment to two starting points: the 2026 maximum pension at 65 ($1,507.65 a month) and the average new pension at 65 ($858.34 a month in July 2026). These are illustrations in today’s dollars. Your own base amount depends on your contribution record, and CPP is indexed to inflation each January, so the dollar amounts rise over time while the percentages stay the same.
| Start age | Months from 65 | Adjustment | Share of the age-65 pension | Monthly, if the age-65 pension is the maximum | Monthly, if the age-65 pension is the average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 60 early | 36% less | 64% | $964.90 | $549.34 |
| 61 | 48 early | 28.8% less | 71.2% | $1,073.45 | $611.14 |
| 62 | 36 early | 21.6% less | 78.4% | $1,182.00 | $672.94 |
| 63 | 24 early | 14.4% less | 85.6% | $1,290.55 | $734.74 |
| 64 | 12 early | 7.2% less | 92.8% | $1,399.10 | $796.54 |
| 65 | 0 | None | 100% | $1,507.65 | $858.34 |
| 66 | 12 late | 8.4% more | 108.4% | $1,634.29 | $930.44 |
| 67 | 24 late | 16.8% more | 116.8% | $1,760.94 | $1,002.54 |
| 68 | 36 late | 25.2% more | 125.2% | $1,887.58 | $1,074.64 |
| 69 | 48 late | 33.6% more | 133.6% | $2,014.22 | $1,146.74 |
| 70 | 60 late | 42% more | 142% | $2,140.86 | $1,218.84 |
Two caveats keep this table honest. First, the maximum for a pension that starts later in 2026 is slightly higher than the January figure, because the CPP enhancement that began in 2019 lifts new maximums a little every month. Second, extra working years between 60 and 70 can change the base amount the adjustment is applied to, separately from the age adjustment itself. The estimate in My Service Canada Account accounts for both.
What is the CPP break-even age?
The CPP break-even age is the age at which the total collected from a later start catches up with the total from an earlier start. In today’s dollars, CPP at 65 catches CPP at 60 at about age 74, CPP at 70 catches CPP at 65 at about age 82, and CPP at 70 catches CPP at 60 at about age 78. Because the adjustments are percentages, those ages are the same for a small pension and a large one.
Worked example: CPP at 60 vs 65
Take someone whose CPP at 65 would be $1,000 a month.
- Starting at 60, the pension is $640 a month.
- By 65, the early starter has collected $38,400 and the person waiting has collected nothing.
- From 65, the later starter gets $360 a month more.
- Catching up takes about 107 months, which lands at about age 74 (73 years and 11 months).
Worked example: CPP at 65 vs 70
Same person, same $1,000 a month at 65.
- Starting at 70, the pension is $1,420 a month.
- By 70, the person who started at 65 has collected $60,000.
- From 70, the later starter gets $420 a month more.
- Catching up takes about 143 months, which lands at about age 82 (81 years and 11 months).
Worked example: CPP at 60 vs 70
- By 70, the age-60 starter has collected $76,800.
- From 70, the gap is $780 a month, closed in about 98 months, at about age 78.
Inflation indexing does not move these break-even ages, because both pensions rise by the same percentage each January. What does move them is what the early money earns: if CPP taken at 60 is invested rather than spent, or lets you leave RRSP or TFSA savings invested longer, the break-even age shifts later. Taxes shift it too, since a larger pension later can land in a higher bracket or trigger the OAS clawback.
How much CPP do you collect by age 80, 85 or 90?
Lifetime totals show the trade-off more plainly than monthly amounts. The table uses the same $1,000 a month at 65, in today’s dollars, with no investment return and before tax.
| Total collected by age | Start at 60 ($640/month) | Start at 65 ($1,000/month) | Start at 70 ($1,420/month) | Most money collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | $115,200 | $120,000 | $85,200 | Start at 65 |
| 80 | $153,600 | $180,000 | $170,400 | Start at 65 |
| 85 | $192,000 | $240,000 | $255,600 | Start at 70 |
| 90 | $230,400 | $300,000 | $340,800 | Start at 70 |
| 95 | $268,800 | $360,000 | $426,000 | Start at 70 |
Read it as insurance as much as investment. Waiting protects against the expensive outcome, a long life with savings running low, because a larger indexed pension keeps paying however long you live. Starting early pays off mainly if life is shorter than average, which nobody knows in advance. To test your own numbers, including CPP, OAS, GIS and tax together, the OAS, CPP and GIS planner compares start ages side by side.
Should you defer OAS from 65 to 70?
Deferring OAS adds 0.6% for each month after 65, up to 36% more at 70, with no increase for waiting longer. At the October to December 2026 maximum for ages 65 to 74 of $762.50 a month, a pension deferred to 70 would be $1,037.00 a month in today’s dollars, the same figure ESDC shows in its own deferral table.
Worked example: OAS at 65 vs 70
- By 70, someone who took OAS at 65 has collected $45,750.
- From 70, the deferred pension is $274.50 a month higher.
- From 70 to 75, that extra recovers $16,470, leaving $29,280 to make up.
- From the month after the 75th birthday, both pensions get ESDC’s automatic 10% increase: the age-65 pension becomes $838.75 and the deferred one $1,140.70, so the gap widens to $301.95 a month.
- The rest takes about 97 months, which lands at about age 83.
The OAS break-even is later than the CPP one because the OAS deferral increase is smaller (0.6% a month against 0.7% for CPP). The age-75 increase applies whether OAS started at 65 or at 70, but because it is a percentage it adds more dollars to the larger, deferred pension, which brings the break-even forward by about a year (CPP has no age-75 increase). Deferring OAS has three side effects worth checking first:
- GIS. ESDC says there is no benefit to waiting if you are eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement. The GIS and the Allowance do not increase when OAS is deferred, you cannot receive the GIS while you are not receiving OAS, and a spouse or common-law partner cannot apply for the Allowance during the deferral. The GIS income limits are in the guide to GIS income limits by province.
- The OAS clawback. No OAS is paid, or clawed back, during deferral. A larger OAS later also raises net income, and the recovery tax takes 15% of net income above the threshold ($93,454 for 2025 income). See how the OAS clawback thresholds and 15% recovery tax work before deferring on a high income.
- Residence. If you have fewer than 40 years in Canada after 18, deferring can also let you add years of residence toward a larger partial pension, because extra time in Canada after OAS starts does not increase it.
The full amounts and eligibility rules are in the Old Age Security guide.
When does taking CPP at 60 make sense?
Starting CPP early makes the most sense when the money is needed now or the longevity insurance is worth less to you. Situations where it often comes up:
- Health or family history that makes a long retirement less likely.
- No other savings to live on until 65, where the alternative is high-interest debt.
- Low expected income in retirement, where GIS eligibility at 65 means extra taxable CPP income later partly reduces the GIS anyway.
- A spouse who may rely on a survivor’s pension. Starting early does not cost them: ESDC calculates the CPP survivor’s pension from what the deceased’s retirement pension is or would have been at age 65, so starting at 60 does not reduce it. A spouse who already has a large CPP of their own may get little from a survivor’s pension anyway: combined survivor and retirement pensions are capped, and the 2026 maximum combined amount at 65 is $1,531.56 a month, only a little above the maximum retirement pension alone.
When does waiting until 70 make sense?
Waiting pays off when you have other income to live on from 65 to 70 and you want more protection against outliving your savings. Common fits:
- Good health and long-lived parents, so the break-even at about 82 looks likely to be passed.
- Savings to bridge the gap. Drawing on RRSP money in the early 60s, when taxable income is otherwise low, and letting CPP grow is a common pattern. RRSPs have to be converted by the end of the year you turn 71, so some people use the years before 70 to draw them down; see how RRIF withdrawals work and are taxed.
- Earnings still covering the bills after 65. Someone still working full time at 65 may not need CPP income yet, and starting it later avoids stacking a taxable pension on top of a salary.
- Worry about inflation. CPP is indexed every January, so a larger base pension means larger dollar increases for life.
Waiting does not raise what a spouse would get as a survivor, though: ESDC bases the survivor’s pension on the contributor’s age-65 amount, not on the increased pension actually paid.
Choosing which accounts fund the bridge years matters as much as the CPP date. The comparison of TFSA vs RRSP covers why TFSA withdrawals leave OAS and GIS untouched while RRSP and RRIF withdrawals count as income, and the retirement income optimizer tests withdrawal orders across accounts. The wider picture, including workplace pensions, is in retirement income planning in Canada.
When to take CPP: how do work and taxes affect the timing?
CPP and OAS are both taxable income, so the start age changes your tax bill as well as your pension. A few rules shape the choice:
| Situation | What the rule says | Why it matters for timing |
|---|---|---|
| Working while receiving CPP before 65 | CPP contributions continue and earn a post-retirement benefit from the following January | Taking CPP at 60 does not end contributions if you keep working; the 2026 maximum for one year of contributions at 65 is $54.69 a month |
| Working while receiving CPP from 65 to 70 | Contributions are optional; they stop at 70 | You can choose to keep building post-retirement benefits |
| Starting after 70 | No further increase after age 70 | Apply so payments start at 70 at the latest |
| High income in the OAS years | 15% recovery tax above the threshold | A larger CPP or OAS can raise the recovery tax |
| GIS eligibility | CPP counts as income for the GIS; OAS deferral does not raise the GIS | Early CPP can reduce GIS later; OAS deferral gains nothing |
Most people apply online through My Service Canada Account; the steps and documents are in the guide on how to apply for the CPP retirement pension. Once payments start, the deposit schedule is on the CPP and OAS payment dates page.
What if your CPP estimate or payment looks wrong?
Check your Statement of Contributions in My Service Canada Account first: missing years of earnings, years spent raising children under seven, or periods on CPP disability can all change the base amount. If a year is missing or wrong, or the start date or amount on your payment does not match what you applied for, call Service Canada’s CPP and OAS line at 1-800-277-9914 (Canada and the U.S.). If you disagree with the decision on your application, you have 90 days from the date you receive the decision letter to ask ESDC for a reconsideration.
What changes next?
CPP amounts are indexed each January and OAS amounts are reviewed every quarter (January, April, July and October), so the dollar figures on this page move while the 0.6% and 0.7% monthly adjustments and the 60 to 70 and 65 to 70 age ranges stay the same. New CPP maximums apply to pensions starting from January 2027, and Statistics Canada is expected to release the 2026 average retirement age early in 2027 (the 2025 figures came out on January 9, 2026). This page is checked against the ESDC and Statistics Canada sources on a schedule and dated at the top.
Common mistakes when choosing a retirement age
- Treating 65 as a deadline. Neither CPP nor OAS has to start at 65, and neither has to start at the same time as retirement from work.
- Comparing monthly amounts only. The monthly figure is always higher at 70; the real question is the break-even age and the insurance value of a larger pension.
- Using the maximum pension as a personal estimate. The average new pension at 65 was $858.34 a month in July 2026, well under the $1,507.65 maximum.
- Deferring OAS while eligible for the GIS. The GIS does not grow with deferral, and it is not paid until OAS starts.
- Forgetting the clawback. A large CPP started at 70, stacked on RRIF withdrawals, can push net income over the OAS recovery threshold.
- Assuming QPP rules match CPP. Quebec workers follow Retraite Québec’s rules, which differ.
Related tools and guides
The OAS, CPP and GIS planner compares CPP at 60, 65 and 70 and OAS at 65 to 70 with your own amounts, including tax and the clawback. For the full OAS picture, start with the Old Age Security guide; for how CPP fits alongside RRIFs, TFSAs and workplace pensions, see retirement income planning in Canada.