--- title: "Canadian Retirement Planning Software, DIY | Optiml" url: https://optiml.ca/go/retirement-planning-software-canada/ description: "Optiml is DIY Canadian retirement planning software and an online retirement planner for individuals who want to plan every account, every year, themselves. 4.8/5 rating, 150,000+ plans run, 14-day free trial." --- # The Retirement Planning Software Canadians Use to Plan It Themselves Optiml is do-it-yourself Canadian retirement planning software for individuals who want to run their own plan. Every account, every decision, every year of retirement in one place. It is financial planning software for Canadians who value control and transparency, not a replacement for dedicated tax-optimization, CPP/OAS timing, or RRSP meltdown pages (Optiml has separate landing pages for those intents). **Trust signals:** 4.8 / 5 average rating · BBB A+ · 150,000+ retirement plans run · Canadian data storage · PIPEDA compliant · As featured in the Globe and Mail and Financial Post. ## Built for Canadians who would rather run their own plan Most retirement planning still happens behind a closed door, with an advisor charging around 1% of your assets every year. It works, but it is expensive, and it puts someone else in the driver's seat. Canadians who understand their own situation often plan it better when they have software built for the job. Optiml models every account, every Canadian rule, and every year of retirement, with the math done for you. You stay in control, and you can see exactly what your plan does. ## Everything you can plan yourself Optiml is among the retirement planning tools Canada DIY households use to model their whole financial picture, not just a single number. - **Every account, in one plan.** Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), First Home Savings Account (FHSA), non-registered accounts, pensions, real estate, and corporate accounts together. - **Model your real spending.** Enter what you spend today, or let Optiml model it. Future travel, mortgage payoff, and one-off goals flow into the plan. - **See every year, not a single number.** Income, taxes, balances, and what you can leave behind, year by year. Success Score sums plan resilience across thousands of market scenarios. - **Test every scenario.** Retire at 60 or 65, move cities, take Canada Pension Plan (CPP) early or late. Compare Plans shows scenarios side by side. - **Built around Canadian rules.** RRSP and TFSA room, Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) minimums, Old Age Security (OAS) clawback thresholds, and provincial tax brackets are live and current. The CPP & OAS Optimizer finds start timing automatically (proof of breadth, not the page's primary intent). - **Built-in AI assistant.** EVA (Electronic Virtual Assistant) answers questions about your plan, Canadian tax rules, and what-ifs, grounded in your full picture. ## How it works Three steps. You stay in the driver's seat. Get your first Canadian retirement plan up and running quickly, then add detail to fine-tune as you go. Re-run in seconds when life changes. 1. **Input your full picture.** Income, accounts, real estate, pensions, and your partner's plan. Most Canadians get their first plan running in 15 to 45 minutes, depending on complexity. Start with the essentials and fine-tune with more detail anytime. Optional direct bank account linking on Pro+. 2. **Pick your strategy. Optiml runs the math.** Choose what you want to optimize toward: increase after-tax estate, build a plan to spend it all, minimize lifetime tax, or fully customize your plan. Every account, every Canadian rule, every year of retirement, modelled in seconds. 3. **You drive the plan.** Compare scenarios, test what-ifs, and see the difference. Add more detail over time to fine-tune, and adjust any time life changes. Optiml then gives you your action plan, showing exactly how to achieve your goals. ## Spreadsheet, advisor, or software | | Spreadsheet | Financial advisor | Optiml | |---|---|---|---| | Cost | Free, but hours of upkeep | $3,000 to $5,000 a year (about 1% of assets) | $249/year (most popular plan) | | Scenarios | One at a time | One or two from the advisor | Unlimited, side by side | | Canadian tax math | You build it yourself | Done for you | Live 2026 brackets, every province | | Stays up to date | Stale within a year | Annual review | Always current | | Who drives the plan | You | Them | You | | Your data | Yours | Shared with the advisor | Yours, stored in Canada | | Cancel anytime | N/A | Often locked in | Yes, anytime in-app | ## Pricing (CAD) All paid plans include a 14-day free trial. Cancel anytime in-app. - **Essentials:** Core planning features. - **Pro+ ($249/year, most popular):** 20 plans, Success Score, Withdrawal Optimizer, CPP & OAS Optimizer, Compare Plans, direct bank account linking, full EVA AI Insights. - **Legacy:** Corporate planning (CCPC, HoldCo, OpCo), trust support. See https://optiml.ca/pricing/ for current plan details. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do I need to be a financial expert to use Optiml? No. Optiml is built for Canadians who want to plan their own retirement, not for advisors. Most people get their first plan running in 15 to 45 minutes, depending on complexity, and EVA walks you through anything that is unclear. Start with the essentials, then add detail to fine-tune. If you can use a spreadsheet or a banking app, you can use Optiml. ### What makes Optiml different from a retirement calculator? Calculators give a single number based on rule-of-thumb assumptions. Optiml runs your actual retirement year by year, across every account, with every Canadian rule applied. You see what your plan does over 30 or 40 years, not a one-time snapshot. ### Is Optiml built specifically for Canadians? Yes. RRSP, TFSA, FHSA, RRIF, CPP, OAS, pension income splitting, provincial tax brackets, and OAS clawback rules are all built in. Optiml is not a US tool with a Canada filter, it is Canadian first. ### Is Optiml a good online retirement planner for Canada? Yes. Optiml is an online retirement planner built for DIY Canadians: you enter your full picture, Optiml runs the Canadian math, and you compare scenarios yourself. Many shoppers evaluating the best retirement planning software in Canada choose Optiml for breadth, year-by-year output, and transparent pricing. ### Can I model my partner's plan too? Yes. Couples planning is built in, including spousal RRSP strategy, pension income splitting, and shared real estate. ### Is my data safe? Yes. Optiml stores your data in Canada, is PIPEDA compliant, and never sells data. Optional read-only bank account linking is available on Pro+. You can delete your account and data at any time. ### Will Optiml replace my advisor? It depends on what your advisor does. If they handle planning, many Canadians find Optiml covers it. If they manage investments, Optiml is complementary. Optiml does not manage money or hold assets. ### What is included in the 14-day free trial? Full access to whichever paid plan you choose. Cancel before day 14 and you are not charged. You can cancel inside the app, with no phone call required. ### Can I cancel anytime? Yes. There is no long-term contract. Choose monthly or annual, and cancel anytime from inside the app. --- **Built in Canada.** Headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Co-Founder & CEO Zac Davies: "We built Optiml to empower Canadians to build their own financial plans and gain the confidence to make informed decisions about their financial future." Start a 14-day free trial: https://app.optiml.ca/?signup For a competitor comparison, see https://optiml.ca/go/retirement-software-alternatives.md