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041 | Should You Delay CPP If You're Receiving A Survivor Pension?

June 20, 2026 · 45 min

Show notes

In episode 41 of Retirement Unpacked, Jon and Martin break down what happens to your TFSA upon death, whether or not the CRA allows you to take a loan to invest in your TFSA, how income splitting rules differ between defined benefit pensions and RRIFs, the differences between QPP and CPP, if it makes sense to start planning for retirement 20 years out, and much more.
Later in the episode, Peter Filippakis joins to go over a corporate meltdown case study involving a couple in their mid-50s who recently sold their business and are now left with a large corporation to draw down. He goes through how to coordinate dividends, the RRSP meltdown, and government benefits, and how to sequence everything in a tax-efficient way.

Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:13 What happens to your TFSA upon death

0:55 Does the CRA allow you to take a loan to fund your TFSA?

3:55 Do you need a cashflow wedge if you have a pension?

5:08 Income splitting: RRSP vs. Pension

6:56 How do spousal RRSPs work

10:01 Is the OAS clawback threshold after-tax?

12:22 Differences between QPP and CPP

16:26 CPP timing when receiving the survivor's pension

20:41 Can it ever be too early to start planning for retirement?

26:39 Corporate meltdown case study

37:35 The importance of term insurance

All episodes of Retirement Unpacked

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