The adjustment CRA applies
Your CPP retirement pension has a base amount calculated as if you start at 65. Start earlier and every month costs you 0.6% of that base, permanently. Start later and every month of waiting adds 0.7%, also permanently. The adjustment never wears off: it sets the cheque you will receive, indexed to inflation, for life.
For 2026 the maximum CPP at 65 is $1,507.65 a month, though most people receive well under the maximum. The percentages below apply to whatever your own base amount is.
| Start age | Adjustment | Monthly amount |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 36% less | $640 |
| 65 | the base amount | $1,000 |
| 70 | 42% more | $1,420 |
The breakeven ages
Starting early means more cheques; starting late means bigger cheques. The breakeven age is where the bigger cheques catch up to the head start.
Comparing 60 against 65, the person who waited catches up around age 74. Comparing 65 against 70, the catch-up lands around age 82. Live well past the breakeven and waiting paid more in total. Do not reach it and starting early paid more.
Those simple totals leave a lot out: tax on each dollar, what your other income is doing in the same years, whether early CPP lets other savings keep growing, and how CPP interacts with the OAS clawback. Two households with the same CPP numbers can get opposite answers once tax is in the picture, which is why an after-tax comparison beats the back-of-envelope one.
What tends to pull the decision each way
These are the factors that commonly move the choice. None of them decides it alone.
- Toward earlier: health concerns or shorter family longevity, needing the income to retire at all, or wanting to spend less of your own savings in the early years.
- Toward later: longer family longevity, still working past 60 (CPP would stack on top of a salary and be taxed at your working rate), or wanting the largest possible inflation-protected income through your own later years. Worth knowing: a spouse's survivor pension is calculated from your unadjusted age-65 amount, so your claiming age does not change it.
- Worth knowing: CPP is taxable income in the year you receive it, so the start age changes not just the amount but which tax bracket absorbs it.
A worked example
Dean's CPP at 65 would be $880 a month. If he waits until 67, the 0.7% monthly credit lifts it to $1,028, an extra $148 every month for life. The catch-up point where waiting has fully repaid the two years of skipped cheques arrives around age 79. Before 79, taking it at 65 was ahead; after 79, waiting pulls ahead a little more every month.
Calculated with the same CPP timing math the TruePath engine uses.
How TruePath shows this
TruePath compares your CPP at 60, 65 and 70 side by side, after tax, inside your own plan rather than in isolation. It shows the monthly difference, the breakeven age and what each start age does to your income in every future year, for each spouse. The CPP start age is its own goal in the app, so you can change it and watch the whole plan update.
Related questions people ask
Is CPP taxable?
Yes, fully. CPP retirement payments are taxable income at your marginal rate, which is why the start age is partly a tax question: it decides which years, and which tax brackets, the income lands in.
Can I work while collecting CPP?
Yes. If you work while receiving CPP before 65 you must keep contributing, and between 65 and 70 you can choose to. Those contributions buy the post-retirement benefit, a small permanent top-up added the following year.
Does everyone get the CPP maximum?
No. The 2026 maximum at 65 is $1,507.65 a month, but reaching it takes about 39 years of contributions at or above the earnings ceiling. Most new pensions come in well below the maximum.
Can I change my mind after starting CPP?
Within 12 months, yes. You can cancel, repay everything received and restart later at a higher amount. After 12 months the decision is locked in.
Does waiting past 70 keep increasing CPP?
No. The deferral credit stops at 70. Waiting beyond 70 only forfeits cheques, so 70 is the latest start age worth considering.
What if I live in Quebec?
Quebec residents pay into the Quebec Pension Plan, or QPP, instead of CPP, and the statement comes from Retraite Quebec rather than Service Canada. The timing logic is the same, with one difference: the early reduction is 0.5% per month before 65, a 30% cut at 60, rather than CPP's 0.6% per month and 36% cut. The deferral credit after 65 and the rest of the trade-off work the same way.
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.