This whole discussion has got me thinking (thanks, everyone!). Which means I need advice:
I need to draw down about $100K from my RRSP over the next 9 years or so. My original plan was to pull out around $8K a year till I'm 65 (when my DB pension shrinks because I'm eligible for full CPP). Then $13K a year, and delay taking CPP till 70.
But... thanks to my pension income and dividend-paying investments, the top slice of that RRSP drawdown is taxed at 30%. And, of course, the money I'm earning in the RRSP will also be taxed at 30% when I withdraw it.
My question is, would it make more sense to take out a crapton of RRSP money now, taxed at 30%, and put it into investments whose earnings will be taxed at lower rates (dividends, cap gains)?
In other words, is there any advantage at all to sticking with the slow and steady withdrawal, or should I just pull off the bandaid all at once?