Should I pay off a loan using my RRIF?

Carrying a line of credit into retirement and wondering whether to wipe it out with a RRIF withdrawal is a genuine fork in the road, with a math answer and a peace-of-mind answer that don't always agree. This piece works through it for a retiree who borrowed to do home repairs. On the numbers, a large RRIF withdrawal is fully taxable and can push you into a higher bracket or chip away at income-tested benefits, so the column suggests taking only enough to stay under the next tax threshold and paying the debt down gradually. But it also acknowledges the human side: if the debt is keeping you up at night, the relief of clearing it can be worth a bit of extra tax. It's a balanced read for retirees weighing what's optimal against what lets them sleep.