# Coast FIRE Calculator Canada

> Find your Coast FIRE number in Canadian dollars. How CPP and OAS lower it, how to bridge the years before 65, and whether to use an RRSP or a TFSA.

Source: https://mycoastfire.com/canada/coast-fire-calculator
Last updated: 2026-09-14

Coast FIRE in Canada means your RRSP, TFSA and workplace savings could grow, with nothing more added, into enough to retire on at 65. Try your own numbers below. Everything is in today's dollars.

## What does Coast FIRE mean in Canada?

Coast FIRE means your RRSP, TFSA and other investments are already big enough to grow, with no new contributions, into what you’ll need at retirement. You keep working, but your paycheque only has to cover this year’s rent, groceries and everything else.

Here’s a 30-year-old who wants C$50,000 a year in retirement, in today’s dollars, and plans to stop at 65. That’s 35 years of growth. With a 6% return, 2% inflation and a 4% withdrawal rate:

|  | Ignoring CPP and OAS | Counting about C$19,500 a year |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Yearly spending your savings cover | C$50,000 | C$30,500 |
| FIRE number at 65 | C$1,250,000 | C$762,500 |
| Coast FIRE number at 30 | C$325,245 | C$198,400 |

The calculator above starts with the left-hand column, which assumes your savings pay for everything. For almost every Canadian that isn’t true, and the right-hand column shows how much it matters: more than C$125,000 off the target at 30.

I’ve used 6% instead of the 7% common on American sites. It leaves room for fees and for a portfolio that isn’t all equities.

## How CPP and OAS change the number

Two federal pensions will pay part of your bills.

The Canada Pension Plan depends on how much and how long you contributed. In 2026 the average new retirement pension at 65 is C$877.01 a month and the maximum is C$1,507.65 ([Canada.ca](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/cpp-benefit/amount.html)). You can start it anywhere from 60 to 70. Each month before 65 cuts it by 0.6%, down to 36% less at 60, and each month after 65 adds 0.7%, up to 42% more at 70 ([when to start CPP](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/cpp-benefit/when-start.html)).

Old Age Security is based on how long you’ve lived in Canada after 18, not on your work history. It starts at 65, and for July to September 2026 the maximum is C$751.97 a month for people aged 65 to 74 ([OAS payments](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/old-age-security/payments.html)). You can defer it to 70 for up to 36% more. There’s also a clawback: if your net income passes C$93,454 (the threshold for the July 2026 to June 2027 period), you repay 15% of the excess ([OAS recovery tax](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/old-age-security/recovery-tax.html)).

The average CPP pension plus full OAS comes to about C$19,500 a year, which is the figure in the example. Both are indexed to inflation, CPP each January and OAS every quarter, so it’s reasonable to treat them as today’s dollars.

The rough approach: subtract the CPP and OAS you expect from your yearly spending, and enter what’s left as your spending in the calculator. Get your own CPP estimate from My Service Canada Account rather than using the average. If you’ve earned well for most of your career, yours will likely be higher. If you took years off or arrived in Canada as an adult, it could be lower, and so could your OAS.

## Retiring before 65

That subtraction only works once the cheques start. If you stop at 60 and take CPP and OAS at 65, your savings pay the full C$50,000 for five years.

Add the missing benefits for those years on top of the reduced FIRE number:

1.  FIRE number counting CPP and OAS: C$762,500.
2.  Five years of missing benefits: C$97,500.
3.  Target at 60: C$860,000.

With 30 years of growth from 30, the Coast FIRE number is C$271,224, compared with C$394,221 if you retired at 60 and ignored both pensions. The bridge money is assumed to earn nothing above inflation, so this leans cautious. In the calculator, set retirement age to 60 and spending to C$34,400.

You could also take CPP at 60 and shrink the bridge. I usually wouldn’t. A permanent 36% cut is a lot to give up to make a spreadsheet look better.

## RRSP, TFSA or FHSA?

If your employer matches contributions to a group RRSP or pension plan, take the full match before anything else.

An RRSP gives you a deduction now and taxes you on the way out. Your room is 18% of last year’s earned income up to a dollar limit, which is C$33,810 for 2026 and C$35,390 for 2027, less any pension adjustment from a workplace plan ([CRA limits](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/registered-plans-administrators/pspa/mp-rrsp-dpsp-tfsa-limits-ympe.html)). It tends to win when your income today is higher than you expect it to be in retirement.

A TFSA works the other way: no deduction, but growth and withdrawals are tax-free. The 2026 limit is C$7,000, and unused room carries forward ([TFSA room](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/tax-free-savings-account/contributing/calculate-room.html)). For Coast FIRE it’s the more flexible account. It’s a good home for bridge money, and withdrawals won’t count toward the OAS clawback later.

The FHSA is for a first home, not retirement. You get C$8,000 of room a year up to C$40,000 over your lifetime ([FHSA deductions](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/first-home-savings-account/tax-deductions-fhsa-contributions.html)). If buying is part of your plan, fill it first, and leave it out of the current savings figure in the calculator.

For the calculator, add up your RRSP, TFSA and any defined contribution balances. Put the monthly total, employer money included, in the contribution box.

## What the calculator leaves out

Tax on withdrawals is the biggest gap. RRSP withdrawals are taxable income, and the tax withheld at the time may not cover what you owe ([tax on withdrawals](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/rrsps-related-plans/making-withdrawals/tax-rates-on-withdrawals.html)). CPP and OAS are taxable too. You have to convert your RRSP by the end of the year you turn 71, usually into a RRIF with minimum yearly withdrawals. If most of your savings are in an RRSP, raise your spending figure to cover the tax.

Inflation matters more than it looks. The Bank of Canada aims for 2%, the midpoint of a 1% to 3% range ([Bank of Canada](https://www.bankofcanada.ca/core-functions/monetary-policy/inflation/)). Try 3% in the calculator if you’d rather not bet on the midpoint for 35 years.

Sequence risk isn’t modelled. The calculator assumes the same return every year. A bad few years right after you stop contributing can push retirement back, which is why most people who reach Coast FIRE keep putting something in.

The 4% rule comes from US market history, as our [methodology](https://mycoastfire.com/methodology) explains. I’d also run your plan at 3.5%. For the example, that moves the Coast FIRE number from C$325,245 to C$371,709.

Last, every number here is in today’s dollars. You enter a nominal return, and the calculator removes inflation to get the real growth rate. A C$1,250,000 target is that much buying power in today’s terms, not the balance you’ll see on a statement in 2061.

## Questions people ask

### Should I start CPP at 60 or wait?

It depends on your health, your other savings and how long a bridge you can fund. Starting at 60 cuts your payment by 36% for life, and waiting until 70 raises it by 42%. Taking it later means more savings needed for the early years, but a smaller FIRE number after that.

### Will the OAS clawback affect me?

Probably not if your retirement spending is modest. For July 2026 to June 2027, the recovery tax is 15% of net income above C$93,454, based on your 2025 income. TFSA withdrawals aren't taxable income, so they don't push you toward that line.

### Does my workplace pension count?

A group RRSP or defined contribution plan counts as savings, so add its balance to your current savings and include your employer's contributions in the monthly figure. A defined benefit pension works more like CPP: subtract what it will pay from your yearly spending instead.

## Keep reading

-   [What is Coast FIRE?The idea in plain English, with the catch.](https://mycoastfire.com/what-is-coast-fire)
-   [How to calculate itThe formula, step by step.](https://mycoastfire.com/coast-fire-number)
-   [MethodologyWhat the calculator does and doesn't model.](https://mycoastfire.com/methodology)