Which Account You Tap First: Cash, RRSP, or TFSA?

Which account should you pull retirement income from first: your Cash savings, your RRSP, or your TFSA? Most Canadian retirees follow what I call the "Default Order"—spending cash first, their RRSP second, and leaving the TFSA dead last. It sounds sensible, but the math tells a very different story. Picking the wrong order can quietly trigger massive CRA tax hits, push you into the OAS clawback, or wipe out government benefits like the GIS. In this video, Colleen breaks down how tax brackets actually work in retirement and walks through three real-world Canadian case studies showing why the right withdrawal order completely depends on your personal financial profile: 1. Pat (Age 62, Saskatoon): Why taking RRSP money early during "gap years" can save tens of thousands in taxes before CPP and OAS begin. 2. Harold (Age 70, Winnipeg): How a $900,000 RRSP can lead to a $400,000 estate tax disaster—and how drawing down early on purpose protects his OAS and his family's inheritance. 3. Ken & Barb (Ages 68 & 67, Charlottetown): Why modest-income retirees must invert the default order to protect the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) from a silent 50% clawback. Plus: The "3 Jars" rule (Taxed, Tagged, and Invisible), the exact day your TFSA should always go first, and a 3-question test to find your exact withdrawal strategy in under 5 minutes. If this helped clarify your retirement drawdown plan, leave a comment with "JARS" below and subscribe for more straightforward Canadian retirement planning guides! ======================================== ⏳ TIMESTAMPS ======================================== 0:00 - The Retirement Withdrawal Dilemma (Pat’s Story) 1:12 - The Trap of the "Default Order" 1:22 - The 3 Jars Metaphor: Cash, RRSP, and TFSA 4:07 - How Tax Brackets Really Work: The Flat Line Rule 5:01 - Pat’s Strategy: Why Spending Cash First Fails 6:23 - The RRSP "Gap Year" Solution (Ages 62–70) 7:07 - Harold’s Story: The $900,000 RRSP Problem 7:34 - Mandatory RRIF Conversion at Age 71 8:54 - The OAS Clawback Threshold (~$95,000 Line) 9:38 - The Final Tax Return: The $400,000 Estate Tax Hit 10:48 - The Meltdown Strategy: Taking More Than You Need 12:06 - Protecting OAS While Shrinking Estate Taxes 13:05 - Ken & Barb: The Silent 50% GIS Clawback 14:08 - Why the RRSP is the Wrong Jar for GIS Recipients 15:03 - The Inverted Order: Cash & TFSA First, RRSP Last 15:37 - The 3-Question Self-Test: Which Profile Are You? 16:50 - The Emergency Truck Rule: When the TFSA Goes First 17:51 - TFSA Re-Contribution Rules & January 1st Reset 18:14 - The 5-Minute Paper Exercise (Taxed, Tagged, Invisible) 19:00 - Pat’s First Day of Retirement 19:32 - Coming Next: The Form You Must Read at 71 ======================================== ⚠️ DISCLAIMER ======================================== This video is created for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute individual financial, tax, or legal advice. Tax rates, thresholds (such as the OAS clawback limit), and government benefit rules (CPP, OAS, GIS) change annually and vary by province. Consult a certified financial planner (CFP) or tax professional to model your personalized retirement numbers before making withdrawal decisions. #RetirementCanada #RRSP #TFSA #RRIF #CanadianFinance #OASClawback #GIS #RetirementPlanning