Pat and Sophie are a lower-income couple. After they retire, they expect most of their income to come from the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), plus Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan. They will also have $2,000 a year in interest from savings they hold in a TFSA.

These TFSA withdrawals will not affect their GIS benefits. But if they had saved the same money in a regular bank account, a $2,000 withdrawal would have reduced their GIS benefits by $1,000.