Sue

Sue is 59 years old and a member of a defined benefit plan. She contributes 5% of her pay to the plan. Her employer also makes contributions.

She is planning to retire next year, and knows that she will have a pension of around $1,500 per month. She has nearly $80,000 in personal RRSP savings.

Sue has also chosen to take her Canada Pension at age 60 expects to receive a benefit of $500 per month. She plans to withdraw $400 per month from her personal RRSP to supplement her pensions.

Her total income at retirement will therefore be close to $29,000 per year - $2,400 per month. This will provide her with a retirement income of 70% of her current earnings.

Sue feels that 70% of her current income will be sufficient for her retirement. She will no longer have the expenses related to traveling to her job, her income will not be subject to as many deductions, and she will be paying less income tax.

George

Sue's husband, George, is 60 years old and has just retired. He and his employer contributed to one defined contribution pension plan over his 30-year career. On retirement, George got a locked-in lump sum of $250,000 and a non-locked-in amount of $50,000 from his additional voluntary contributions.

George transferred his locked-in money to a life income fund and plans to take the maximum withdrawal each year. He transferred his additional voluntary contributions to his personal RRSP. He has no other RRSP savings.

The maximum amount that George will be able to withdraw from his life income fund is $16,750 this year. He also plans to withdraw $10,000 per year from his personal RRSP for the next five years. He has chosen to wait until age 65 to receive his Canada Pension.

Taking such a high amount out of his personal RRSP will mean that by 65, George will have nearly depleted it. However, at age 65, George will begin to receive enough income from both Canada Pension and Old Age Security to replace his annual RRSP withdrawals.