Should Bob be withdrawing more than just the minimum from his $550,000 RRIF?

An 82-year-old with a sizeable RRIF wants to travel and enjoy his money, but hesitates because taking out more than the required minimum means a bigger tax bill. This piece works through that very common tension between spending while you still can and the instinct to avoid tax. Drawing only the minimum keeps taxes down each year, yet it can leave a large registered balance that gets taxed heavily later, and it can mean missing out on experiences that money was meant to fund. The discussion runs the numbers on what taking out more would actually cost and what it would make possible. It is a reassuring read for older retirees sitting on healthy RRIFs who feel guilty about spending, and who need to see that a larger withdrawal is sometimes the sensible choice, not a reckless one.