| Product | Best for | Price | CPP and OAS |
|---|---|---|---|
| ProjectionLab | detailed retirement and FIRE planning with Canadian rules | Free Basic; Premium $129/yr (currency not stated) | CPP, OAS and GIS modelled, with pension splitting and CPP sharing |
| WealthWise | FIRE projections inside a Canadian tracker | Free; Essential CA$4.99/mo (beta price) | Not documented |
| Looniee Ours | a quick, honest projection from balances you already track | Free; Plus CA$72/yr | You enter expected CPP and OAS; start-age adjustments and the OAS clawback applied; no GIS |
| A spreadsheet | seeing every assumption | Free | Whatever you build |
What a Canadian retirement plan has to model
- CPP and OAS timing. Starting CPP before 65 cuts it by 0.6% a month; waiting past 65 raises it by 0.7% a month. OAS can be deferred too. The right ages depend on your other income.
- The OAS clawback. Above an income threshold, OAS is clawed back at 15 cents per dollar. Large RRIF withdrawals can trigger it.
- RRIF minimums. An RRSP has to become a RRIF (or an annuity) by the end of the year you turn 71, and a RRIF has a minimum withdrawal every year after that.
- Tax by province. The same withdrawal is taxed differently in Alberta and Quebec.
US-built planners often model Social Security and 401(k)s well and Canada not at all. Check that a planner names CPP, OAS and RRIF before you trust its answer.
RRSP dollar limit, 2015 to 2027
The maximum RRSP deduction limit rises with average wages. Your own limit is 18% of last year's earned income, up to this cap, plus any unused room.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $24,930 |
| 2016 | $25,370 |
| 2017 | $26,010 |
| 2018 | $26,230 |
| 2019 | $26,500 |
| 2020 | $27,230 |
| 2021 | $27,830 |
| 2022 | $29,210 |
| 2023 | $30,780 |
| 2024 | $31,560 |
| 2025 | $32,490 |
| 2026 | $33,810 |
| 2027 | $35,390 |
A planner and a tracker do different jobs
A planner asks you to type in balances, income and spending, then projects decades ahead with as much detail as you'll give it. A tracker holds your actual accounts and keeps them current, and some offer a simpler projection on top. Many people use both: the tracker to know where they are, the planner to decide where they're going.
01ProjectionLab
Best for detailed retirement and FIRE planning with Canadian rules
ProjectionLab is the most complete planner here for Canadians, and it has been adding Canadian detail steadily. Its changelog shows OAS and GIS, CPP contributions and a configurable RRSP-to-RRIF age (October 2025), then CPP benefits, pension income splitting, CPP sharing and the dividend tax credit (April 2026). Its Canada page lists default TFSA and RRSP account types and Canadian tax presets.
The free Basic plan does forecasting and Monte Carlo; Canadian tax estimation is part of Premium. Provincial presets are documented for four provinces so far, and FHSA and RESP support isn't documented. It's a planner, not a tracker: you enter balances rather than importing holdings.
Good
- CPP, OAS, GIS, pension splitting and RRIF modelled
- Monte Carlo on the free plan
- Detailed milestones and scenarios
Not so good
- Canadian tax estimation needs Premium
- Provincial presets documented for 4 provinces
- No holdings tracking; balances are typed in
02WealthWise
Best for FIRE projections inside a Canadian tracker
WealthWise is a bilingual Canadian tracker that adds FIRE planning with Monte Carlo scenarios on top of your tracked accounts. That's a good fit if your question is "when could I stop working?" and you want the answer tied to the same portfolio you track.
Its pages don't document how it handles CPP, OAS or RRIF minimums, so check those before you rely on a date. It's labelled beta, and which plan includes the FIRE tools is worth confirming in the app.
Good
- FIRE Monte Carlo tied to your tracked portfolio
- English and French, data hosted in Canada
- Optional broker sync on Premium
Not so good
- CPP, OAS and RRIF handling not documented
- Labelled beta
03LoonieeOurs
Best for a quick, honest projection from balances you already track
This is ours, on the Plus plan. Because Looniee already holds your TFSA, RRSP and non-registered balances, the projection starts from real numbers instead of typed-in ones. It grows them to your retirement age, then draws them down to a target after-tax spend using CPP and OAS (adjusted for the age you start them), RRIF minimums and a tax estimate, and runs a Monte Carlo to show a range rather than one line. It also works out the earliest age your plan holds up.
It's simpler than ProjectionLab on purpose and says so: it treats a household's balances as one track (no pension splitting), you enter your expected CPP and OAS rather than having them calculated from your earnings, it doesn't model GIS, and everything is in today's dollars. Treat it as an estimate, not advice.
Good
- Starts from your actual tracked balances
- CPP and OAS timing, OAS clawback, RRIF minimums
- Monte Carlo and earliest-retirement-age
Not so good
- Plus only
- No pension splitting or GIS
- No sync, and web only and English only
04A spreadsheet
Best for seeing every assumption
Plenty of Canadian FIRE planners started in a spreadsheet, and for good reason: you can see every assumption and change any of them. Government sources publish the CPP adjustment rates, OAS clawback threshold and RRIF minimum factors you'd need.
The work is in keeping it right. Tax brackets, OAS amounts and RRIF rules change, and a spreadsheet doesn't update itself.
Good
- Total transparency and control
- Free
Not so good
- You maintain every rule yourself
- No Monte Carlo without real effort
Our pick
For a serious retirement or FIRE plan, use ProjectionLab. It models more of the Canadian system than anything else here, and its free plan is enough to start. If you want a FIRE date tied to a Canadian tracker you already use, WealthWise is worth a look.
Where Looniee fits is the other half of the job: keeping your real TFSA, RRSP and FHSA balances and room current, with a quicker projection on top when you want a sanity check. Feed its balances into your planner a couple of times a year.
What we'd do today
- Get your real numbers: your CPP Statement of Contributions from My Service Canada Account, your RRSP deduction limit and TFSA room from CRA My Account, and your current balances.
- Run them through ProjectionLab's free plan, choosing your province and Canadian account types.
- Try two or three CPP and OAS start ages and see how the plan changes. The difference is often bigger than people expect.
- Keep the balances current between planning sessions. If you'd like a tracker for that, try Looniee's live demo first; it needs no account.
Questions
- Is there a FIRE calculator built for Canada?
- ProjectionLab has Canadian account types, CPP, OAS, GIS and provincial tax presets (tax estimation is Premium). WealthWise offers FIRE Monte Carlo inside a Canadian tracker. Looniee Plus projects retirement with CPP, OAS, RRIF minimums and a tax estimate from your tracked balances. All three are estimates, not advice.
- Do these planners calculate my CPP from my earnings?
- Looniee doesn't; you enter your expected CPP, ideally from your Statement of Contributions in My Service Canada Account. ProjectionLab's changelog lists CPP contributions and CPP benefits, so check its documentation for exactly how it estimates them.
- What's the OAS clawback, and why does a planner need it?
- Above an income threshold, OAS is reduced by 15 cents for each dollar of income over it. Large RRIF withdrawals or other income in retirement can push you over, so a planner that ignores it will overstate your retirement income.
- Can I use a US retirement planner in Canada?
- You can, but check that it models CPP, OAS, RRSP-to-RRIF conversion and Canadian tax. Many US tools model Social Security and US tax only, which gives a Canadian a misleading answer.
We checked prices and features for every product here on its own website (earliest check: October 20, 2026). This changes often, so double-check before you pay for anything.
