Financial independence planning

FIRE Calculator

Build your retirement income plan one account at a time. See how much your pensions cover, where the remaining money comes from, and whether your savings can support the life you want through age 90.

Step 1 of 7

TFSA

Add the tax-free investments you have today and the amount you expect to contribute each year.

Plan financial independence around your real income sources

This is a planning model in Canadian dollars. It keeps each account separate, uses the inputs you provide, and tests whether the plan can pay for every retirement year through age 90. Here is exactly how each number in the summary is calculated.

1. Your current and projected portfolio

Current portfolio is the sum of your TFSA, RRSP, non-registered, and other-account balances. For every year before retirement, the calculator adds that account’s annual contribution first, then applies that account’s annual return. In plain language: (account balance + yearly contribution) × (1 + annual return). It repeats that step until your retirement age. Adding the four resulting account values produces Projected at retirement, before the first retirement withdrawal.

2. CPP and OAS estimates

Estimated CPP is a rough estimate, not a Service Canada quote. The calculator starts with the 2026 maximum monthly CPP retirement pension at age 65 of $1,507.65. It scales that amount by your average salary relative to the 2026 CPP earnings range ($3,500 to $74,600) and by your CPP contribution years. It adds one contribution year for every year the model assumes you continue working until retirement or age 70, whichever comes first, then caps the total at 39 years. Starting CPP before 65 reduces the estimate by 0.6% per month; starting after 65 increases it by 0.7% per month, up to age 70.

Estimated OAS uses the 2026 maximum monthly OAS amount for ages 65 to 74: $762.50. It multiplies that amount by your Canadian residence years after age 18 divided by 40. The calculator also assumes you continue living in Canada until the later of age 65 or retirement, and caps the residence total at 40 years. It does not model the OAS recovery tax, the age-75 increase, international social-security agreements, or future program changes.

CPP begins at your retirement age when it is between 60 and 70; otherwise it begins at the nearest permitted age. OAS begins at 65. Once either benefit begins, this calculator holds its monthly amount fixed. Your work, union, and other government pension inputs are also fixed monthly amounts from retirement onward.

3. Your yearly retirement income and withdrawals

Desired yearly income is the total amount you want to live on in your first retirement year. It is not added to pension income. In every later year, only this goal rises by your inflation assumption. The calculator subtracts the pension income available at that age from the income goal. The remainder is the needed portfolio withdrawal for that year.

The withdrawal breakdown follows one fixed order: TFSA, then non-registered accounts, then RRSP, then other accounts. After those withdrawals, each remaining account balance receives its own annual return. If the accounts cannot supply the required amount in a year, the plan ends at that age. The runs out around age message, final chart point, and projected balance at age 90 all come from this same year-by-year calculation.

4. How to read the summary cards and chart

Needed first-year withdrawal rate is the first portfolio withdrawal divided by projected retirement savings. Plan’s sustainable first-year rate uses the same first withdrawal, but divides it by the minimum retirement portfolio needed to fund the plan through age 90.

The chart uses bars only. Before retirement, it shows today and each five-year saving checkpoint. In retirement, it shows the first retirement year, then every five years, using the portfolio balance after that year’s withdrawal and investment return. The pension bar changes only when CPP or OAS becomes available; it does not rise with inflation. If money runs out, the chart stops at the first year the portfolio cannot cover the gap.

5. Savings targets and recommendation

The calculator finds Portfolio target at retirement by repeatedly testing larger and smaller starting portfolios using the exact same account returns, pension timing, inflation, and withdrawal order. The smallest tested amount that funds every year through age 90 is the target. Each 5-, 10-, 20-, or 30-year checkpoint repeats that test from that point forward while keeping your remaining planned contributions.

If there is a gap, the recommendation repeatedly tests an extra yearly TFSA contribution before retirement. It reports the smallest annual amount that makes the plan last to age 90 under the current assumptions. It does not check your available TFSA contribution room.

6. Monte Carlo probability score

The Monte Carlo section runs 100 different versions of your plan. Each version keeps your starting balances, contributions, pension timing, desired income, and withdrawal order. For every year, each account gets a random return between 1% and 20%; the return you entered for that account is treated as the most likely point in that range. During retirement, inflation is also randomly selected between −0.5% and 15%, with your entered inflation rate as the most likely point.

Each line on the Monte Carlo chart is one of those 100 paths. The Plan survives to age 90 score is simply the number of simulations that can make every withdrawal through age 90, divided by 100. This is a scenario score based on the ranges above—not a guaranteed or statistically complete forecast of investment returns.

Verify the public-pension figures

Important limits

Results are estimates, not financial, tax, or benefits advice. The model does not include taxes, CPP contribution records, CPP low-income or child-rearing adjustments, RRSP/RRIF rules, OAS clawbacks, fees, benefit indexation, account withdrawal restrictions, or future government-program changes. Use your My Service Canada Account and a qualified professional to confirm important retirement decisions.