Making the most of your retirement years in London, Ontario

The Londoners who enjoy their retirement most treat it as a long project rather than a finish line

RETIREMENT IN LONDON is something to look forward to. With the Thames Valley Parkway at your doorstep, housing that’s still affordable compared to Toronto, and excellent health care through London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s, the city is a great place to grow older. But enjoying those years takes a real plan. The strategies below can help London-area retirees and pre-retirees stretch every dollar.

1. Think Carefully About When to Start CPP and OAS

The single biggest financial decision most retirees make is when to turn on their government pensions. You can start the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) as early as age 60 or wait until age 70. The longer you wait, the bigger each monthly cheque becomes, and the increase lasts for life.

According to the Government of Canada, if you take CPP at 60 instead of 65, your payments are cut by 36%. If you wait until 70, they go up by 42%. Old Age Security (OAS) works similarly, with a 36% boost if you delay from 65 to 70. The maximum CPP for someone starting at age 65 in 2026 is $1,507.65 per month, though the average new retiree only receives about $925. Most people don’t qualify for the maximum because it requires close to 40 years of high contributions.

The right answer depends on your health, your other savings, and whether you’re still working. A retired teacher with a healthy defined-benefit pension may want to delay CPP and let it grow. Someone in poorer health, or who needs the income right away, may benefit from taking it earlier. You can compare your own numbers using the official Canadian Retirement Income Calculator. 

2. Plan the Order You Withdraw From Your Accounts

In Canada, which account you pull money from matters almost as much as how much you pull. The three main buckets work very differently:

• RRSP / RRIF withdrawals are fully taxable, like a paycheque.
• TFSA withdrawals are completely tax-free and don’t count against your income.
• Non-registered (regular) investments are taxed only on the growth, often at lower rates if it’s dividends or capital gains.

This matters because once your income climbs above roughly $95,000, the Canada Revenue Agency starts clawing back your OAS. RRSP/RRIF withdrawals push your income up; TFSA withdrawals don’t. A common strategy for London retirees is to draw lightly from RRSPs in the early years (before mandatory RRIF withdrawals kick in at 72), use the TFSA strategically in higher-income years to avoid the clawback, and keep growth investments inside the TFSA where they’ll never be taxed again.

The CRA’s official guide to RRSP and RRIF rules is here.

If you’d like help mapping out a personalized withdrawal order, a fee-based local planner can run the numbers for your specific situation. The team atAleph Retirement Planners specializes in exactly this kind of coordination for Londoners.

3. Use Pension Income Splitting With Your Spouse

If you’re married or common-law and one of you has a much bigger pension or RRIF than the other, the CRA lets you split up to 50% of eligible pension income on your tax returns. This can shave thousands off your combined tax bill every year and help both spouses qualify for the $2,000 federal pension income credit. It’s an easy win that a lot of couples miss.

4. Watch Local Costs and Use Local Discounts

London is more affordable than the GTA, but property taxes, utilities, and home insurance still climb every year. A few practical moves:

• Property tax deferral. Ontario seniors with limited income may qualify for property tax and water relief through the City of London. Details are on the city’s website at london.ca.
• Drug and dental coverage. Once you turn 65, the Ontario Drug Benefit program covers most prescription costs with only a small co-pay. Don’t keep paying out of pocket if you don’t have to.
• Transit and senior centres. London Transit offers reduced fares for those 65+, and Hamilton Road Seniors’ Centre, Kiwanis Seniors’ Community Centre, and the Horton Street location all offer low-cost programming that can replace pricier private alternatives.

5. Stress-Test Your Plan Against Inflation and Longevity

Outliving your savings is a bigger threat to most retirees than any market crash. Today’s 65-year-old in Ontario has a real chance of living past 90. A plan that works at 4% inflation may not work at 6%. Most planners recommend running your numbers through several scenarios: a bad market in your first five years of retirement, a major health event in your 80s, and the loss of one spouse (which usually cuts CPP and OAS income while keeping most fixed expenses).

This kind of stress-testing is hard to do on a spreadsheet alone. Working with an advisor who knows the London market and Ontario tax rules can turn anxiety into a clear plan. The team atAleph Retirement Planners builds these projections for clients across southwestern Ontario.

A retirement today can easily last 25 or 30 years. The Londoners who enjoy theirs most treat it as a long project rather than a finish line, with a written plan, reviewed yearly, that turns CPP, OAS, RRSPs, TFSAs, and home equity into a paycheque that lasts as long as they do.