Why the minimum exists
Every dollar in a RRIF started life as an RRSP contribution you deducted from your income, plus decades of growth that was never taxed. The government sheltered that money on one condition: eventually it comes back out as taxable income. The RRIF minimum is how that deal is enforced. It does not force you to spend the money, only to take it out of the tax shelter, a slice at a time.
The rule is not punitive in practice. The percentages start modestly and the account can keep growing for years even while it pays out. It is a schedule, not a penalty.
The factors, and what they mean on $500,000
Each January 1, your financial institution takes the RRIF balance and multiplies it by the factor for your age. That is your required minimum for the year. Markets can move all year long, but the minimum was fixed on January 1 and does not change.
The first required withdrawal is not due until the year after the RRIF is opened. Convert at 71 and the first mandatory payment lands the following year. Before age 71, if you converted early, the factor comes from a formula instead of a table: 1 divided by 90 minus your age.
The dollar column below assumes a $500,000 balance at each age so you can see the shape of the schedule. In real life the balance changes every year, so your own dollar amounts will differ.
| Age | Factor | Minimum on $500,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 71 | 5.28% | $26,400 |
| 72 | 5.40% | $27,000 |
| 73 | 5.53% | $27,650 |
| 74 | 5.67% | $28,350 |
| 75 | 5.82% | $29,100 |
| 80 | 6.82% | $34,100 |
| 85 | 8.51% | $42,550 |
Withholding tax: none on the minimum, tiers above it
No tax is withheld on the minimum amount. Your institution pays it to you in full. That does not make it tax-free: every RRIF withdrawal, minimum or not, is fully taxable income on your return. The minimum simply arrives without a deduction up front, so some people set money aside for the eventual bill.
Take more than the minimum and the extra portion gets standard CRA withholding, outside Quebec: 10% on amounts up to $5,000, 20% from $5,001 to $15,000 and 30% over $15,000. Withholding is a prepayment, not the final tax. Your real bill is settled on your return, where the extra income is taxed at your own rate.
The younger-spouse election
When the RRIF is set up, you can elect to base the minimums on your spouse's age instead of your own. A younger spouse means a lower factor every single year, which means less forced taxable income and more money staying sheltered.
The election is made once, at setup, and it never limits you: you can always withdraw more than the minimum. It only lowers the amount you are required to take.
How rising minimums meet the OAS clawback
The factor climbs every year, from 5.28% at 71 to 6.82% at 80 and 8.51% at 85. On a large RRIF that has kept growing, the forced withdrawal in your 80s can be a much bigger number than the one at 71, whether you need the cash or not.
That matters because RRIF withdrawals count as net income for the OAS clawback. Once total net income passes $95,323 (the 2026 threshold), OAS is reduced by 15 cents for every extra dollar. A retiree who never came near the threshold at 71 can be pushed over it in their 80s purely by the rising minimum. This is one reason some people draw registered money down earlier, to keep later balances, and later forced minimums, smaller.
There is a softer side too: from age 65, RRIF withdrawals count as eligible pension income. That brings the pension income credit and lets up to half the income be shifted to a spouse's return, which can keep a couple under the threshold longer.
If you do not need the cash: in-kind withdrawals
The minimum forces money out of the RRIF, not into your chequing account. If you do not need to spend it, you can withdraw investments in kind: shares or funds move straight from the RRIF into a TFSA (if you have room) or a regular investment account without being sold.
The withdrawal is still taxable income at the investment's value that day, exactly as if you had taken cash. But you stay invested, and anything moved into a TFSA grows tax-free from then on.
A worked example
Diane converted her $500,000 RRSP to a RRIF in the year she turned 71. Her first required withdrawal comes the following year: 5.28% of the balance, which on $500,000 is $26,400 for the year, about $2,200 a month. No tax is withheld on it, but the full amount goes on her return as income. The factor keeps climbing as she ages. If her balance were still $500,000 at 80, the 6.82% factor would force out $34,100, and at 85 the 8.51% factor would force out $42,550, whether she needs the cash that year or not.
Calculated with the same 2026 CRA rules the TruePath engine applies.
How TruePath shows this
TruePath applies the correct RRIF factor to each spouse's balance in every year of your projection, so the forced withdrawals appear on your income timeline automatically, rising as the factors rise. It shows the tax each withdrawal creates, flags any year the minimums push income over the OAS clawback threshold and lets you compare drawing registered money earlier against leaving it to the schedule. The factor table lives inside the engine, so you never have to look it up.
Related questions people ask
Is there withholding tax on RRIF minimum withdrawals?
No. The minimum is paid out with nothing withheld. It is still fully taxable income on your return, so the tax is simply settled later rather than deducted up front. Amounts above the minimum do get withholding, at 10%, 20% or 30% depending on size, outside Quebec.
Can I take out more than the RRIF minimum?
Yes, any amount at any time, up to the whole account. There is no maximum on an ordinary RRIF. The portion above the minimum has withholding tax taken at source, and the whole withdrawal is taxable income for the year.
How is the RRIF minimum calculated each year?
Your institution multiplies the account balance on January 1 by the prescribed factor for your age that year, 5.28% at 71 for example. The result is your required minimum for that calendar year, and market moves after January 1 do not change it.
What is the younger-spouse election?
A one-time choice, made when the RRIF is opened, to base your minimums on your spouse's age instead of your own. A younger spouse means a lower percentage every year, so less income is forced out and more stays tax-sheltered. It never stops you withdrawing more.
Do RRIF withdrawals affect OAS?
They can. RRIF withdrawals count as net income for the OAS clawback, which in 2026 starts at $95,323 and recovers 15 cents per dollar above that. Rising minimums on a large balance can push income over the line later in life, even for someone who was well under it at 71.
Sources
This page is general education about Canadian retirement rules, not personalised financial advice. Figures are for the 2026 tax year and change with government updates.