Retiring at 45 gives you a 20-year bridge before CPP and OAS kick in. Here's exactly how to calculate your FIRE number and manage the bridge period for a comfortable early retirement.
Retiring at 45 occupies a sweet spot in the Canadian FIRE landscape. It requires a substantial portfolio but is achievable for a broader range of income levels than retiring at 40. A 20-year bridge to CPP/OAS (ages 45-65) is long but manageable, and most people retiring at 45 will have meaningful CPP contributions from 20+ years of working.
The required portfolio for retiring at 45 at $55,000/year spending is approximately $1.05M-$1.2M at a 3.5% withdrawal rate (appropriate for a 45+ year retirement). Compare that to retiring at 65 — where the same person might need only $925,000 — and the difference is $125,000-$275,000 in additional portfolio for 20 extra years of freedom.
The 20 years between retiring at 45 and collecting CPP/OAS at 65 require careful planning. Your portfolio must fund these years while preserving enough to cover the final 25-30 years of life, even after CPP/OAS reduces the required withdrawal.
A practical approach: calculate how much you need at age 45 to fund the bridge period and then the post-65 period separately. For $55,000/year expenses and $18,000/year CPP/OAS at 65, you need the portfolio to cover $55,000/year for 20 years (bridge) and $37,000/year for 25+ years after. This combined calculation suggests a FIRE number around $1.1-1.3M depending on return assumptions.
Retiring at 45 with 20 years before CPP/OAS is the ideal setup for an RRSP meltdown. Withdraw $15,000-$20,000/year from RRSP in the lowest tax bracket (15% federal on first $57,375 of income in 2026). Combined with TFSA withdrawals, this efficiently drains the RRSP before mandatory RRIF withdrawals kick in at 71 — and before OAS clawback becomes a concern.
Example: A 45-year-old with $400,000 in RRSP withdraws $17,000/year. By 65, the RRSP is largely depleted at low tax rates, CPP/OAS begins covering most expenses, and the TFSA continues growing tax-free. See our RRSP meltdown strategy guide.
| Retirement Age | FIRE Number ($55K expenses) | CPP Reduction at 65 | Net Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | ~$1,486,000 | -$450,000 | $1,036,000 |
| 45 | ~$1,229,000 | -$411,000 | $818,000 |
| 50 | ~$1,050,000 | -$375,000 | $675,000 |
| 55 | ~$925,000 | -$350,000 | $575,000 |
Illustrative — assumes CPP + OAS combined ~$1,400-1,500/month varying by retirement age contributions.
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