http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-in ... e34209897/
Obviously, it's not a popular proposition (only 1% of CPP recipients chose it).In past articles, I have argued that retirees are better off waiting until age 70 to start their Canada Pension Plan pension, assuming they have enough savings to tide them over until then. Doing so increases the amount of guaranteed income they will have for the rest of their lives. It also reduces your long-term investment risk because you are spending your savings first.
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In spite of the many advantages of this option, almost no one takes the government up on it. Only 1 per cent or so of all CPP recipients postpone the start of their CPP payments until age 70. What we have is a rare situation – the government is quietly doing the public a big favour and hardly anyone is taking advantage of it.
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Starting CPP early preserved more of the RRIF assets but the widowed Hanna still runs out of money sooner. This counterintuitive result happens because the early CPP start also means that her CPP benefits (including the survivor benefit from Carl) are lower for life. While she starts widowhood with a bigger CPP balance, she also runs it down more quickly.
What happened to Carl and Hanna is true in general. If you are concerned about your spouse’s welfare if you die young and think that starting CPP early will improve the financial situation, you should think again.
Topic split from Clippings 2017 as there is clearly enough discussion for a separate topic -- Administrator