Retirement strategies to keep more money in your pocket

Someone who retired early, at 55, wants to map out the most tax-efficient way to draw down a large RRSP over the years ahead. It is a common wish, and Allan uses it to show why the answer is rarely a single tidy formula. He looks at the levers people reach for first, such as when to start CPP and OAS and how aggressively to draw registered money, and points out that an advantage gained in one place is often quietly cancelled by a cost somewhere else. Rather than locking into one rigid schedule for the next thirty years, he favours revisiting the plan each year and adjusting as life and tax rules shift. The discussion will resonate with retirees sitting on sizeable RRSPs who assume there is one perfect drawdown order waiting to be found.