RRIF (Registered Retirement Income Fund)
FERR (Fonds enregistré de revenu de retraite) in French
Quick definition
A RRIF (Registered Retirement Income Fund) is what your RRSP becomes in retirement. You must convert your RRSP by December 31 of the year you turn 71. Growth stays tax-deferred, but a mandatory minimum must be withdrawn, and taxed, every year.
From saving to spending: the RRSP's retirement phase
An RRSP cannot last forever. By December 31 of the year you turn 71 (as of July 2026), you must do one of three things with it: convert it to a RRIF, buy an annuity, or cash it out entirely. Cashing out means the whole balance lands on one tax return, which is almost always a disaster, and annuities suit only some retirees, so the RRIF is by far the most common choice. You can also convert earlier than 71, in whole or in part, and some people do.
A RRIF is essentially the same account wearing a different hat: it can hold the same investments (stocks, ETFs, GICs, bonds), everything inside keeps growing tax-deferred, and conversion itself triggers no tax. Two things change: you can make no new contributions, and money must start flowing out.
The mandatory minimum withdrawal
Starting the year after you open the RRIF, you must withdraw a minimum percentage of the account's value every year. The percentage rises with age, from 5.28% at 71 to 20% at 95 and beyond (as of July 2026). See the full table in our article on the RRIF minimum withdrawal.
One useful election: you can base the minimum on your younger spouse's age, which lowers the required percentage and keeps more money sheltered longer. You must choose this when the RRIF is set up.
There is no maximum withdrawal; you can take out as much as you like. The one exception is locked-in money from a former employer pension: a LIF (Life Income Fund) has an annual maximum as well as a minimum, including under Québec's rules.
How RRIF withdrawals are taxed
Every dollar withdrawn from a RRIF is taxable income at your marginal tax rate, just like RRSP withdrawals. One quirk: the minimum amount has no withholding tax at source; only amounts above the minimum are subject to withholding. No withholding does not mean no tax, so set money aside if you only take the minimum.
From age 65, RRIF withdrawals count as eligible pension income. That unlocks the federal pension income credit on the first $2,000 (as of July 2026) and, more importantly, pension income splitting: you can shift up to half of your RRIF income to your spouse's return. This is why many retirees without a workplace pension convert part of their RRSP to a RRIF at 65 rather than waiting until 71.
Death and estate treatment
A RRIF can name your spouse or common-law partner as successor annuitant. On your death, the account simply continues in their name, tax-free, with payments carrying on. Without a spouse, the RRIF's value is generally taxed on your final return, with limited exceptions for financially dependent children.
In Canada
The mandatory minimum is a running policy debate in Canada: retirees living longer argue the percentages force them to draw down savings too fast, and the rates were last broadly reduced in 2015. For now the schedule stands (as of July 2026), and planning around it matters.
Large RRIFs create a specific Canadian problem: mandatory withdrawals stack on top of CPP, OAS, and other income, and can push you into the OAS clawback, which starts at $93,454 of net income (as of July 2026). Retirees with big RRSPs sometimes withdraw more in their sixties, at lower rates, precisely to shrink future forced withdrawals.
Worked example
Diane turns 71 in 2026 with $600,000 in her RRSP and converts it to a RRIF in December. In 2027 she must withdraw at least 5.28%, about $31,700. Her husband Marc is 66, so she elects to use his age, cutting the minimum to about $26,800 and keeping nearly $5,000 more sheltered. Since Diane is over 65, she splits half her RRIF income onto Marc's lower-income return, saving the couple roughly $1,800 in tax for the year and helping keep Diane below the OAS clawback threshold.
Reviewed by Alexandre Bernier, CFP®, CIM®, PFP®·Updated July 2026