Long time reader Garth asked for my opinion on Wade D. Pfau’s essay Eight core ideas to guide retirement income planning .  Pfau is a smart guy and it’s no surprise that his article is excellent.  I do have some thoughts around the edges, though. “Play the long game” Pfau starts with an important point: “A retirement income plan should be based on planning to live, rather than planning to die.” This means that making sure you have enough money in old age is more important than trying to squeeze out as much money as you can in early retirement.  But we’re not asking you to sacrifice now.  By taking reasonable steps to protect your much older self, you’re freed up to spend a reasonable amount early in retirement without fear of running out of money.  Pfau lists six steps toward playing the long game which I’ll translate into the Canadian context. Delaying starting CPP and OAS As long as you have some savings to live on and you’re in reasonable health, delaying the...