The TFSA Balance You’ll Probably Need to Retire Well in Canada

How much money do you need to retire? The classic question every Canadian has. You can use the Motley Fool retirement calculator to make a personal retirement goal, as every person has different financial needs. On a more generic note, a million-dollar retirement is a dream figure. Looking at growing inflation, Canadians are aiming for a $1.7 million portfolio to retire, according to BMO’s Annual Retirement Survey.

Determining your TFSA balance for a financially healthy retirement

You can keep adding to the retirement pool, and this will only grow at an exorbitant level. However, don’t lose your sleep over such numbers, as you may not really need that much to retire. In fact, 36% of Canadians who aim for a $1.7 billion portfolio believe they may not achieve this goal. However, chasing stars can lead you to mountains.

Let’s take one step at a time and identify your retirement requirements. If you are in your 40s, assess your expenses and determine which will no longer be there when you turn 65. For instance, your mortgage would probably be over, childcare expenses will be gone, and your daily commute to work will be reduced. That would probably be replaced by healthcare and medical bills.

Suppose you earn $70,000–$90,000 annually, and you seek the same amount for your passive income to pay. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will cover for $20,000 to $27,000 of the expense from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) pension. These are the 2026 payout figures.

ParticularsCPP Monthly Payout (Jan 2026)Annual PaymentCPP Average$925.35$11,104.20CPP maximum$1,507.65$18,091.80OAS maximum$743.05$8,916.60

You want your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) to cover the remaining $50,000–$60,000. Considering a 4% withdrawal rule, a $1.25 million to $1.5 million retirement pool can give you a $50,000 to $60,000 annual payout.

Can you achieve a $1.5 million retirement portfolio?

According to Statistics Canada, 45–54-year-old Canadians have an average TFSA balance of $40,500 and an average RRSP balance of $173,500. Assuming that 50% of this amount is dedicated to a retirement portfolio, $107,000 is a good start at age 45.

However, if you don’t have even $100,000 in retirement savings, it’s time to pull up your sleeves and focus all your savings on retirement. If you start with a $50,000 portfolio today and invest $12,000 annually in a portfolio with 12% compounded annual returns, you can achieve a $1.45 million portfolio 20 years from now.

Two decades from now, $50,000 may not be your requirement, but it can at least help you cope with daily expenses. Someone earning $70,000 annually could consider maxing out on the $7,000 TFSA contribution and investing the remaining $5,000 through an RRSP. If you only have $50,000 in retirement savings at age 45, consider investing 15–25% of your income in retirement instead of 10%.

TFSA stocks to accelerate your retirement pool

Another way to boost your savings is by investing in high-growth stocks through a TFSA and increasing portfolio returns. The iShares NASDAQ 100 Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) (TSX:XQQ) can help you earn up to 20% average annual returns in 10 years. The Nasdaq Index houses the most stocks in the artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. So far, the AI infrastructure is enjoying the rally. In the future, AI applications will see growth and drive Nasdaq to new highs.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY) is another stock to buy and forget. Its wealth management and capital market division performs well in a growing economy. Its banking business performs well when interest rates rise. The stock has surged 120% in the last five years, beating its previous 134% rally between 2009 and 2019. This shows that the bank’s growth has accelerated, and it could accelerate further as Canada invests in energy and AI infrastructure.

While the above two stocks can help you beat 12% returns requirement, CT REIT (TSX:CRT.UN) can give you a 5.2% annual yield, 3% dividend growth, and a dividend reinvestment plan to compound the passive income. Some of the most obvious stocks give the best returns.

The post The TFSA Balance You’ll Probably Need to Retire Well in Canada appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

Should you invest $1,000 in Ct Real Estate Investment Trust right now?

Before you buy stock in Ct Real Estate Investment Trust, consider this:

The Motley Fool Canada team has identified what they believe are the top 10 TSX stocks for 2026… and Ct Real Estate Investment Trust wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 … if you invested $1,000 in the “eBay of Latin America” at the time of our recommendation, you’d have over $16,000!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor Canada’s total average return is 91%* – a market-crushing outperformance compared to 87%* for the S&P/TSX Composite Index. Don’t miss out on our top 10 stocks, available when you join our mailing list!

Get the 10 stocks instantly #start_btn6 { background: #0e6d04 none repeat scroll 0 0; color: #fff; font-size: 1.2em; font-family: 'Montserrat', sans-serif; font-weight: 600; height: auto; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 30px 0; max-width: 350px; text-align: center; width: auto; box-shadow: 0 1px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5), 0 1px 0 #fff inset, 0 0 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); border-radius: 5px; } #start_btn6 a { color: #fff; display: block; padding: 20px; padding-right:1em; padding-left:1em; } #start_btn6 a:hover { background: #FFE300 none repeat scroll 0 0; color: #000; } @media (max-width: 480px) { div#start_btn6 { font-size:1.1em; max-width: 320px;} } margin_bottom_5 { margin-bottom:5px; } margin_top_10 { margin-top:10px; }

* Returns as of June 15th, 2026

More reading

• How Much Should a 20-Year-Old Canadian Have in Their TFSA to Retire?
• 2 Monthly Dividend Stocks I’d Buy for Steady Cash Flow
• How to Use a TFSA to Generate $363.14 in Monthly Tax-Free Income
• 3 TSX Dividend Stocks I’d Buy for Decades of Passive Income
• 3 Canadian Dividend Stocks That Look Built to Hold Up Through a Recession

Fool contributor Puja Tayal has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.