At what age do Canadians start their CPP pensions? And what age should they start?

For many years, I have recommended that people start their CPP pensions at age 70. As the chart below shows, this isn’t when most people actually start to collect CPP. In fact, only 4 per cent of Canadians are expected to wait until 70.

That being said, not everyone should start their CPP at 70. Sometimes an earlier age – as early as 60 – is a better choice, either because the retiree doesn’t have enough assets to defer their CPP until 70 or because they have a shortened life expectancy. The recommended CPP starting ages shown in the chart are based on the author’s calculations.

Frederick Vettese is a former chief actuary of Morneau Shepell and the author of the PERC retirement calculator (perc-pro.ca)