How we source our numbers
A retirement projection is only as trustworthy as the numbers behind it. This page explains the two kinds of inputs WealthPath uses — the reference data we maintain and the assumptions you control — and how each is kept current.
Reference data WealthPath maintains
These are the published Canadian figures the projection depends on. They come from official sources (the Canada Revenue Agency and Service Canada) and are stored as effective-dated values, so each projection year uses the figures that apply to that year, and we can update them as new years are announced without a code change.
| Area | Examples |
|---|---|
| Government benefits | CPP and CPP2 maximums, OAS amounts and the clawback threshold, GIS |
| Payroll deductions | CPP/CPP2 contributions, EI premiums |
| Registered accounts | RRSP and TFSA contribution limits, RESP/CESG rules, RRIF and LIF withdrawal factors |
| Income tax | Federal and provincial tax brackets and rates, and annual indexation |
Future years that haven't been announced yet are projected forward using an indexation assumption rather than left blank, so a long-range plan stays continuous.
Assumptions you control
WealthPath does not pick these for you — they're yours to set, and they're usually what moves a projection the most:
- Investment returns on your accounts
- Inflation
- Salary growth
- Retirement age and life expectancy
- Withdrawal strategy in retirement
Because no one can know these in advance, treat any single projection as one plausible path. The Monte Carlo tool varies returns across many random sequences so you can see the range of outcomes, and Scenarios let you compare different assumption sets side by side.
What the model simplifies
To stay understandable, WealthPath makes some deliberate simplifications — for example in how income tax is applied. The specifics are documented in the relevant guides:
If a figure ever looks off, it's worth checking whether it's a number we maintain (which we keep current) or an assumption you've set (which you can adjust).