Retirement Calculator — Corpus Needed & Monthly SIP
No Sign-Up. No Paywall. Find out how much corpus you need for retirement and the monthly SIP to get there. India-specific with inflation.
Method: Required corpus from inflated annual expenses and a withdrawal assumption, netted against existing savings, then solved to the monthly gap. Outputs are illustrative and depend entirely on the assumptions entered.
Visual Breakdown
The Retirement Planning Framework
Indian retirement planning has four pillars. A diversified approach across all four creates resilience:
| Pillar | Instruments | Expected Return | Liquidity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mandatory Savings | EPF, NPS Tier 1, Gratuity | 8.25% / 10-12% / Lump at exit | Locked till 58/60 |
| 2. Voluntary Long-Term | PPF, VPF, Sukanya Samriddhi | 7.1-8.25% | Long lock-ins (15-21 years) |
| 3. Market-Linked Growth | Equity MF (SIP), Index Funds, ELSS, Stocks | 10-13% | Daily, with exit load early |
| 4. Fixed-Income Reserve | FD, Bonds, SCSS (senior), POMIS | 6.5-8.2% | Monthly/maturity |
How Much Do You Need to Retire?
Indian financial planners use the “25x annual expense” rule (4% withdrawal rate). Calculate your monthly expense at retirement, multiply by 12 to get annual, then by 25 for required corpus.
| Current Monthly Expense | Inflated to 60 (assume 30 yr, 6% inflation) | Required Corpus (25x annual) |
|---|---|---|
| ₹30,000 | ~₹1.72 lakh | ~₹5.17 crore |
| ₹50,000 | ~₹2.87 lakh | ~₹8.61 crore |
| ₹75,000 | ~₹4.31 lakh | ~₹12.93 crore |
| ₹1,00,000 | ~₹5.74 lakh | ~₹17.23 crore |
| ₹1,50,000 | ~₹8.61 lakh | ~₹25.84 crore |
Retirement Corpus — How to Build It
Age 25-35: Aggressive Equity Allocation
- 80% equity (Flexi-cap, Index Fund, Mid-cap, Small-cap)
- 15% PPF + EPF + NPS
- 5% Gold/International
- Step-up SIP 10% annually as salary grows
Age 35-50: Growth + Stability
- 65% equity (mostly large-cap, multi-cap)
- 25% debt (PPF, EPF, NPS, debt MF)
- 10% gold/alternatives
- Top-up SIPs whenever you get bonus/inheritance
Age 50-60: De-risking Phase
- 45% equity (large-cap focus)
- 40% debt (FD, corporate bond, NPS Tier 1)
- 15% liquid/gold
- Start SWP planning
Age 60+: Income Phase
- 30% equity (Hybrid funds, large-cap MF)
- 50% debt (Senior Citizen Saving Scheme, RBI Bonds, FD, debt MF for SWP)
- 15% liquid (3-year expense buffer)
- 5% gold
SCSS + POMIS — Post-Retirement Income
| Scheme | Eligibility | Interest | Max Investment | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCSS (Senior Citizen Saving Scheme) | 60+ years | 8.2% (Q3 FY25) | ₹30 lakh | Slab; 80TTB ₹50K exempt |
| POMIS (Post Office Monthly Income) | Any age | 7.4% | ₹9 lakh single / ₹15 lakh joint | Slab |
| RBI Floating Rate Bond | Any age | ~7.4% (variable) | No limit | Slab |
| PMVVY (Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana) | 60+ years | 7.4% | ₹15 lakh | Slab |
A retiree with ₹50 lakh corpus can allocate: ₹15L SCSS + ₹15L PMVVY + ₹15L RBI Bonds + ₹5L liquid = ₹3.5+ lakh annual interest income, mostly tax-free under 80TTB ₹50K + reduced slab.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Age 30, Target ₹5 Crore by 60
Required SIP: ₹13,500/month at 12% expected return (with annual 8% step-up). If returns are 14% (mid-cap heavy), required SIP drops to ₹8,500/month. If only 10%, requires ₹20,000/month.
Example 2: Late Starter at 40, Target ₹3 Crore by 60
Required SIP: ₹38,000/month at 12% return. Higher monthly burden but still achievable for senior managers.
Example 3: Corpus Sustainability — SWP from ₹5 Crore
₹5 crore corpus at 60. Conservative 60-40 allocation (equity-debt). Expected return 9%. 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate: ₹16.67 lakh annually (₹1.39 lakh monthly). Sustainable 30+ years assuming inflation-adjusted withdrawals. 5% Aggressive: ₹20.83 lakh annually (₹1.74 lakh monthly). Sustainable ~25 years.
Common Retirement Planning Mistakes
- Starting too late: Compounding’s power is exponential — 5 years lost early = 50% lost corpus at end
- Over-allocating to FD: 7% pre-tax = 4.9% post-tax for 30% slab. Inflation 6% = negative real return
- Ignoring inflation: ₹1 lakh today’s expenses = ₹3.2 lakh in 20 years at 6% inflation
- Relying solely on EPF/NPS: Mandatory savings cover 30-40% of needs at best. Voluntary investments cover the rest
- Not buying health insurance: Without ₹15-25 lakh family floater, medical expense can devastate retirement corpus
- Wrong asset allocation by age: 70-year-old in 80% equity is too risky; 30-year-old in 80% FD too conservative
- Forgetting nominees: All financial assets need updated nominees to avoid inheritance disputes
- No emergency fund: Forces early breaking of investments during job loss or medical emergency, breaking the compounding chain
More FAQs
Should I retire at 60 or work longer?
Statutory retirement is 60 (public sector) or no fixed (private). Working till 65 has triple benefit: 5 more earning years, 5 more compounding years, 5 fewer years of withdrawal. Can dramatically improve corpus sustainability.
What is FIRE?
Financial Independence Retire Early. Aggressive savings (40-70% of income) + extreme frugality + high equity allocation. Aim for corpus of 25-33x annual expenses by age 40-50. Growing community in India. See our FIRE Calculator.
Should I take pension or lump-sum from NPS?
A minimum annuity is mandatory at retirement: 20% of the corpus for non-government subscribers (40% for government-sector subscribers). A lump sum of up to 60% of the corpus is tax-free. Many retirees invest the 60% in MF for SWP — often beats pension annuity rates of 5-7%. But annuity provides guaranteed income for life.
What about senior citizen insurance?
Get comprehensive family floater (₹15-25 lakh) before retirement. Post-60 health insurance is harder and costlier. Top-up plans add ₹50L-₹1Cr coverage cheaply. Don’t ignore — medical inflation runs 10-12% annually.
How does inflation affect retirement?
Inflation is the biggest enemy. ₹50K/month expense today becomes ~₹2.87L in 30 years at 6%. Plan for inflation in BOTH corpus accumulation (10-12% equity returns beat 6% inflation) AND withdrawal phase (annual SWP step-up by 5-6%).
Retirement planning in New Tax Regime?
Most retirement instruments lose tax benefits under New Regime: PPF/ELSS/NPS deductions removed. EPF still works (Section 10(11) exemption on contribution within limits). Many old-regime supporters argue Old Regime is structurally better for retirement-focused taxpayers.
What is the 25x rule?
Required retirement corpus = 25 × annual expenses. Based on 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate. ₹6L annual expense → ₹1.5cr corpus. Simple, conservative estimate. Inflation requires step-up SWP.