If you are 55 and your TFSA (Tax-Free Savings Account) balance is sitting around $40,000, you are not alone. But you are leaving serious money on the table. The good news? You still have time to change that. And a dividend royalty stock like Topaz Energy (TSX: TPZ) could be the kind of holding that helps you get there.
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Most Canadians at 55 are missing a massive TFSA opportunity
The average TFSA balance for Canadians aged 55 to 59 ranges from $39,200 to $43,519, based on data from the Canada Revenue Agency and Statistics Canada. That number sounds reasonable until you put it in context.
By 2026, the total lifetime TFSA contribution room for any Canadian who was 18 or older when the program launched in 2009 will have grown to $109,000. It means the typical 55-year-old has only used about 38% of their total tax-free contribution space. There is roughly $65,000 to $70,000 of unused room sitting idle.
Most Canadians treat their TFSA like a savings account and hold cash or guaranteed income certificates in it. These instruments are safe but not positioned to deliver inflation-beating returns over the long term.
The fix is simple. Stop saving inside your TFSA. Start investing.
Topaz Energy can turbocharge your TFSA before retirement
Topaz is a Canadian royalty and infrastructure company. It does not drill wells but earns royalties when producers pump oil and natural gas from land where Topaz holds royalty interests.
This business model comes with something most investors love: predictable cash flow without the capital spending tied to operating a traditional energy company.
In Q1 of 2026:
- Topaz reported record royalty production of 24,609 barrels of oil equivalent per day, an increase of 10% year over year.
- Natural gas production hit a new record at 105.7 million cubic feet per day.
- Total liquids production also set a record, rising 7% year over year.
Total first-quarter revenue and other income reached $94.6 million. The infrastructure side of the business, which includes natural gas processing facilities, delivered a 98% utilization rate and a 92% operating margin.
Topaz increased its quarterly dividend by 3% to $0.35 per share, or $1.40 per share annualized, translating to a forward yield of 4.5%. Valued at a market cap of $5 billion, Topaz Energy has returned close to $1 billion to shareholders since its inception.
The math that could rewrite your retirement
Run the numbers on what a well-invested TFSA can actually do.
If you start with $40,000 today, add $500 per month, and earn an 8% annual return in an equity portfolio, your balance will climb to over $178,000 by age 65.
The same starting balance in a 3% cash account yields roughly $124,000. That difference of more than $54,000 is completely tax-free.
A stock like Topaz fits squarely into that growth-oriented equity strategy. Its dividend yield provides recurring passive income, while the royalty model offers stability.
And its 2026 guidance, which now points to the upper end of its production range, suggests the underlying business has momentum. Topaz president and CEO Marty Staples noted during the earnings call that drilling activity across the company’s acreage remains strong.
Operators are actively expanding in the Clearwater, the Montney, and several other high-return plays. The company also expects waterflood injection rates at key acreage to double through 2026, a development Topaz says it did not underwrite when it originally acquired much of the land.
Maximizing unused TFSA contribution room, shifting out of cash-based holdings, and anchoring your portfolio around a dividend-paying royalty company with a proven track record of income growth could meaningfully improve your retirement picture.
Topaz Energy is a steady, income-generating machine. And right now, that is exactly what a TFSA at 55 needs most.
