I retired in July 2022 and was fortunate enough to have a number of stock options and shares from the company I retired from, but they were not liquid at that time. I had up to one year to sell them. The company went public early in 2023, so I was able to sell all the shares and options in the first and second quarters. My understanding is that this will be deemed employment income for 2023, so I will have to pay both the employee and employer portion of CPP contributions.
I am wondering if it makes sense to start collecting CPP before 2023 ends and will that avoid or reduce having to make those CPP contributions? Service Canada shows that I will receive maximum CPP benefits. Since I will be 61 shortly, I know the payments will be reduced by about 25 per cent