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Retirement · Couples · 2026

Couples retirement planner

Two spouses, one plan. Each of you is taxed on your own income; the planner finds the pension income split that saves the most each year, applies CPP sharing, tests the OAS clawback per spouse, follows the RRIF minimums, and shows what happens to the survivor. Year by year, in today's dollars, with the government rule beside every number.

Rules and amounts verified at canada.ca and CRA · October 22, 2026

Spouse A
Workplace (DB) pension
Spouse B
Workplace (DB) pension
Household

Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Your plan lasts to 95 with $633,537 left
—
$22,241Lifetime tax and clawback saved by splitting + CPP sharing
$290,292Lifetime income tax, both spouses
$0Lifetime OAS recovery tax
$633,537Estate at plan end, after an estimate of the final RRIF tax

After-tax household income vs your spending target, by year (today's dollars)

after-tax income spending target estate (right axis)

Compare two plans

Save the current plan as A, change anything, then compare with B.

Year-by-year table
YearAgesEmploymentCPPOAS (net)PensionsRRIF/RRSP outTFSA outNon-reg outGIS est.TaxClawbackSplitAfter-taxTargetEstate
Sources and assumptions

Assumptions and simplifications

  1. All figures are in today's (2026) dollars. The portfolio grows at the real return: (1 + return) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1.
  2. CPP, OAS, GIS, the OAS recovery-tax threshold and the tax brackets are treated as indexed to inflation, so they are constant in real terms. A DB pension indexed below inflation loses purchasing power each year.
  3. Each spouse is taxed on their own income with the 2026 federal and provincial brackets, the basic personal amount, the age amount (65+) and the pension income amount. Payroll deductions apply to employment income only.
  4. The OAS recovery tax is 15% of the same year's net income over the threshold (in reality it is based on the prior year's return and recovered through the following July–June payments).
  5. Pension income splitting moves up to 50% of eligible pension income (RPP at any age; RRIF from 65) to the other spouse, in 1% steps, choosing the split that minimises the couple's income tax plus recovery tax that year.
  6. CPP sharing splits the shareable portion of both pensions equally once both spouses are 60 and receiving CPP. The total never changes.
  7. RRSPs convert to a RRIF at 71; the minimum applies from the following year, on the younger spouse's age if that option is chosen. Withdrawals above the minimum follow the chosen order and go first to the spouse with the lower taxable income.
  8. Non-registered growth is taxed each year as a capital gain at the 50% inclusion rate (all gains assumed realised). TFSA withdrawals are tax-free and do not count as income.
  9. GIS is an estimate: the published maximum falls to zero at the published income cut-off in a straight line. The real formula has exemptions and top-ups.
  10. Survivor scenario: the survivor's CPP becomes their own pension plus the survivor's pension (60% of the deceased's age-65 pension at 65+; flat rate + 37.5% under 65, an estimate), capped at the published combined maximum; the deceased's OAS stops; their RRSP/RRIF and TFSA roll to the survivor; the DB pension continues at the survivor percentage; the $2,500 death benefit is added once; spending falls to the survivor share you set.
  11. Any after-tax surplus is saved in the non-registered account. The end-of-plan estate is shown before and after an estimate of the final tax on the remaining RRSP/RRIF (taxed as income in one year).

Quebec residents: the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) replaces CPP with similar but not identical rules and amounts; see Retraite Québec. Provincial tax here uses Quebec's 2026 brackets and the federal abatement.

Your plan is in the address bar; copy it to share or save. No names, no identity, rounded dollars.

How to use the result

Start with the toggles. Run the plan with splitting and CPP sharing on, then off. The difference is real money and it is the headline number above; both elections are paper elections that cost nothing.

Then move the start ages. Delaying CPP to 70 adds 42% for life; delaying OAS to 70 adds 36%. Watch two things as you move them: whether the money lasts, and whether either spouse's income crosses the clawback line. The planner shows the recovery tax per spouse for every year in the table.

Then run the survivor scenario. Enter a death age for the higher earner. The survivor keeps one OAS, a capped CPP, the DB survivor percentage and all the accounts, but is taxed as one person; the gap card shows the drop in after-tax income. If it is uncomfortable, that is what life insurance, a larger TFSA or a higher survivor percentage on the pension are for.

Related tools: pension income splitting (one year, in detail), when to take CPP, OAS clawback, RRIF minimums, CPP survivor's pension and withdrawal order.

Live data

Live from the source, refreshed daily

Read every morning from Service Canada, Statistics Canada, the Bank of Canada and the CRA, and again at 11 a.m. ET on weekdays. Published figures only, no estimates.

Money news & key dates Next up: BoC Oct 28 · Budget Nov 5 All benefit payment dates Next deposit: CPP, Oct 28 CPP payment dates Next deposit Oct 28 OAS payment dates Next deposit Oct 28 · this quarter’s maximums Canada inflation rate 3.1% in September 2026 · next CPI Nov 16 Bank of Canada rate dates Policy rate 2.25% · next decision Oct 28 2027 TFSA, RRSP & CPP limits Each number the day CRA or Service Canada publishes it Add dates to your calendar Free .ics feeds for Apple, Google and Outlook

Questions

What does this planner do that a single-person calculator cannot?

It taxes each spouse separately, then finds the pension income split (0 to 50% in 1% steps) that minimises the couple's income tax plus OAS recovery tax every year, applies CPP sharing once both are 60 and receiving CPP, tests each spouse's OAS against the clawback line separately, and runs a survivor scenario: what happens to income when one of you dies.

Which income can be split?

Up to 50% of eligible pension income (form T1032): payments from a registered pension plan at any age, and RRIF, LIF and RRSP-annuity income from 65. CPP and OAS are never eligible for splitting; CPP has its own sharing rule, which the planner models separately. Source: CRA, pension income splitting (verified October 22, 2026).

How does CPP sharing work?

Both spouses must be at least 60 and receiving (or applying for) CPP. The portion earned while you lived together can be shared: each of you keeps the unshared part of your own pension and gets half of the combined shareable part. The couple's total does not change; what changes is who reports it, which can lower tax and the clawback. Source: Service Canada, pension sharing.

Where is the OAS clawback line?

For the July 2026 to June 2027 payment year the recovery tax starts at $93,454 of 2025 net income and takes back 15 cents per dollar above it, per person, until OAS reaches zero at about $152,062 (65 to 74) or $157,923 (75 and over). The planner uses the $93,454 line in today's dollars for every year.

What happens to CPP and OAS when one spouse dies?

The survivor's OAS continues; the deceased's OAS stops. The survivor can receive a CPP survivor's pension: at 65 and over, 60% of the deceased's retirement pension; under 65, a flat-rate portion ($238 a month in 2026) plus 37.5%. A person receiving both a retirement and a survivor's pension is capped at a combined $1,532 a month (2026). The planner applies these rules and labels the under-65 case an estimate. Source: Service Canada, CPP survivor's pension.

Why are the results in today's dollars?

So that every year is comparable with your spending today. The portfolio grows at the real return (return minus inflation), and CPP, OAS, GIS, the clawback threshold and the tax brackets are treated as indexed to inflation. The defaults, 5.0% return and 2.1% inflation, follow the FP Canada and Institute of Financial Planning 2026 Projection Assumption Guidelines (fixed income 3.2%, Canadian equities 6.3%, U.S. equities 6.4%, inflation 2.1%); a balanced portfolio before fees lands near 5.0%.

Does it replace a financial planner or a full planning app?

No. It answers couple questions in two minutes with the government's own rules and shows its work. It does not model market randomness, provincial benefits, corporate accounts, rental property or detailed estate planning. For a full plan, bring these numbers to a planner.

Educational tool, not financial advice. Rules and amounts as published by Service Canada and the CRA, verified October 22, 2026; results depend on the figures you enter and on the stated assumptions.