With CPP, the longer you wait, the more you’ll get

For quite some time now, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) has been available as an early retirement benefit – you can get it, with a reduction for taking it early, at age 60.

But is taking it at 60 the “no brainer” many seem to think it is?

An article in the Flin Flon Reminder suggests otherwise.

The article, quoting financial advisers, says it rarely makes sense to take CPP at 60, and “there are even fewer reasons to start drawing retirement funds while you’re still working.”

“I don’t advise taking CPP until you’re actually retired,” states Willis Langford, a Calgary-based investment planner, in the article. He adds that CPP, along with Old Age Security (OAS), “form the very base of a retirement income plan and you shouldn’t tap into it until you’re ready to start accessing all of your sources of income in retirement.”

Yet, the article notes, about 12.6 per cent of all CPP beneficiaries are taking their benefit early, and face a reduction in the benefit of 36 per cent – “0.6 per cent per each month… before you turn age 65,” the article explains. Those who can wait until age 70 to start CPP get an increase in their benefit of 42 per cent – 0.7 per cent for each month after age 65 that they are not collecting the CPP.

The article explains this with a couple of examples. Someone earning $50,000 a year would get $10,760 in CPP benefits ($897 per month) if he or she starts at age 65. If the same person starts at age 60, they would get “just $551 per month – about $6,600 a year.” As well, if the early collector continues to work while they receive CPP, they would have to make $2,300 a year in CPP contributions.

These extra contributions would boost the CPP benefit at age 65 to $658 a month ($7,896 a year) – still much less than what you get if you start at 65, the article notes. And if the person waits until age 70, he or she would get $1,422 per month ($17,064 a year).

Why, the article asks, do some folks take it early, given all this?

“If you knew you were going to live for a very, very long time, generally you would wait. The longer you wait, the more you would get,” Brad Goldhar of BMO Private Wealth tells The Reminder. “But if you knew at age 60 that your family history suggested not many years of longevity, you might take it early,” he states.

The bottom line – be sure you know the rules for CPP when you’re thinking about taking it.

Similarly, if you are a member of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, and decide on a life annuity when you retire, be sure to get an estimate. Just like with CPP, the later you start your annuity, the more you will get per month. And generally speaking, more is usually a good thing when it comes to retirement income.

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing, classic rock, and darts. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22