Tools · Personal Finance

CPP start-age calculator: take it at 60, 65 or 70?

Every month you wait changes your Canada Pension Plan retirement pension for life. Enter the estimate from your Service Canada statement, pick a start age, and see the monthly amount, the age at which a later start overtakes an earlier one, and what each choice adds up to by 75, 80, 85 and 90 — with the arithmetic shown.

Imperium Post · Uses Service Canada's 0.6% and 0.7% per-month rules and 2026 amounts · Last checked against canada.ca on 14 September 2026 · Entered amounts are not saved or sent

Your estimated monthly CPP at 65 (today's dollars) Use View my benefit estimates in My Service Canada Account. Leave blank to use the average new pension at 65, $877.01 (April 2026). The 2026 maximum is $1,507.65.

Real return on all modeled payments (optional) Both options invest all modeled payments at this constant real return. 0% is the undiscounted comparison; no return is guaranteed.

Start age you are consideringAny month from your 60th to your 70th birthday.

Compare with starting atThe break-even is worked out against this age. 65 is the reference point Service Canada uses.

The working

Line	Amount

Every start age, side by side

Start	Monthly	vs 65	By 75	By 80	By 85	By 90	Break-even vs 65

Constant-dollar model using the SAME fixed age-65 baseline at every start age. Both options invest all payments at the chosen real return from each payment month’s start. Future wage-based starting amounts, exact indexation and taxes are not modeled. Your own start age is highlighted.

How the calculation works

Service Canada sets your retirement pension at 65 from your contribution record, then adjusts it for when you actually start. Every month before 65 takes off 0.6% — 7.2% a year, 36% if you start on your 60th birthday. Every month after 65 adds 0.7% — 8.4% a year, 42% at 70. The adjustment is permanent: it is applied once and then the pension is indexed to inflation every January for the rest of your life. Waiting past 70 adds nothing, so the calculator stops there.

The break-even age answers the obvious question: if the later start pays more per month but starts later, when does it catch up? With no investment return the arithmetic is a straight line — the earlier pension's head start divided by the monthly gap. Between 60 and 65 that is about 73 years and 11 months; between 65 and 70, about 81 years and 11 months. If you would invest the early payments rather than spend them, the head start grows, and the break-even moves later; the drop-down shows how much.

A worked example

Take the average new pension, $877.01 a month at 65. Started at 60 it is $561.29 a month; at 70 it is $1,245.35. By 75 the early starter has collected about $101,000, the 65 starter about $105,200 and the 70 starter about $74,700. By 85 the order has reversed: about $168,400, $210,500 and $224,200. At the maximum pension, $1,507.65, the same percentages give $964.90 at 60 and $2,140.86 at 70 — a gap of $1,176 a month between the two extremes, for life.

What the calculator does not do

It does not recalculate your base pension. If you stop working at 60 and delay CPP to 65, those five zero-earning years enter your contribution record; the base-component general drop-out lets Service Canada exclude up to eight of your lowest-earning years, so the effect depends on your record; the enhanced component uses different rules. It ignores the post-retirement benefit you earn by contributing while receiving CPP before 70. It ignores tax, the Guaranteed Income Supplement (which CPP income reduces), the OAS recovery tax and survivor benefits, all of which can tip the answer. And it cannot know how long you will live. Use it to see the size of the trade-off, then check the estimate in My Service Canada Account before deciding.

Frequently asked

How much is CPP reduced if I take it at 60?: By 0.6% for every month before your 65th birthday: 7.2% a year, 36% at 60. A pension of $1,000 a month at 65 is $640 at 60, for life, before indexation.
How much more do I get if I wait until 70?: 0.7% for every month after 65: 8.4% a year, 42% at 70. $1,000 at 65 becomes $1,420 at 70. Nothing is added for waiting past 70.
What is the break-even age between 60 and 65?: In this fixed-baseline, zero-return model, the first whole month at which 65 catches 60 is age 73 years 11 months. The 70-versus-65 crossover is 81 years 11 months. Payment timing conventions can shift the result.
Is CPP indexed to inflation?: Yes, every January, using the change in the all-items CPI averaged over the previous November-to-October period. The 2026 increase was 2.0%. If prices fall, benefits stay where they are.
Can I keep working while receiving CPP?: Yes, and the pension is not reduced. Under 65 you keep contributing and each year of contributions earns a post-retirement benefit; from 65 you can opt out of contributing; contributions stop at 70 regardless.
Where do I find my estimated CPP at 65?: View my benefit estimates in My Service Canada Account. The 2026 maximum at 65 is $1,507.65 a month; the average new pension at 65 was $877.01 in April 2026.

Sources checked by Codex, 14 September 2026

General information for the assumptions stated on this page; not personal financial or tax advice. Prepared with AI assistance by Claude; adapted and source-checked by Codex on 14 September 2026. Human factual review is not documented. Inputs stay in this page and are not saved or sent.