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By Allan Norman, MSc, CFP, CIM on November 11, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

By Allan Norman, MSc, CFP, CIM on November 11, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Different retirement income strategies using registered accounts produce different outcomes. You must pick your priorities.

My dad is 77 years old and we live together in a house worth $840,000, which we own together. Dad retired at age 70 and commuted his pension so he would have money to leave to me. He has about $580,000 divided between a LIF and a RRIF and his CPP is $17,000 and OAS $9,500. He lives on his CPP, OAS, and minimum LIF and RRIF withdrawals. He doesn’t have a TFSA and I have read that it makes sense to draw extra from registered accounts and add it to TFSAs. Should he be doing that?

—Alex

Hi Alex. It is good you are asking this question because you want to be a little careful with what you read. You see a lot of smart-sounding strategies but they can produce different outcomes for different people. If your dad’s goal is to build wealth, then he is probably best not to draw from his registered retirement income fund (RRIF) and add to a tax-free savings account (TFSA). However, with a goal to leave a larger estate to you, it probably is the right strategy.

Let’s dig into this by first understanding what will happen if your dad continues doing what he is doing and he doesn’t add money to his TFSA. If he lives to 90, earns 5% on his investments, your home appreciates........

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