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The RRIF minimum schedule, in plain terms

Once your RRSP becomes a RRIF, the government makes you withdraw a minimum amount each year — and that minimum rises as you age.

How the minimum is set

•The minimum is a percentage of your Jan 1 RRIF balance, with the rate fixed by your age.
•At 71 it starts at 5.28% and climbs each year — about 6.8% at 80, 8.5% at 85, 10.2% at 88.
•By the early 90s it passes 11–12%, and from age 95 on it sits at 20%.
•You can always withdraw more than the minimum, never less.

Why the schedule matters

•Every dollar of the minimum is fully taxable as ordinary income — you can't avoid it.
•In your late 80s and 90s the minimum can exceed your spending needs, forcing taxable surplus.
•Large forced withdrawals can also trigger OAS clawback and push you into higher brackets.

The planning lever

•Drawing extra RRSP before 71 shrinks the eventual RRIF balance, so future minimums are smaller.
•This is the core of tax smoothing: voluntarily take taxable income now to avoid being forced into it later.
•LIFs (locked-in funds) follow a similar minimum schedule, with an added maximum cap on annual withdrawals.

See the minimums in your plan

The Sequencer applies the RRIF minimum factors automatically from age 71 onward.