How this calculator works
- Step 1Inflate your expenses₹2,87,175 a month₹50,000 today, after 30 years of 6% inflation.
- Step 2Price the retirement years₹7.48 croreEnough for 25 years of rising withdrawals.
- Step 3Project your savings₹5.03 croreToday’s savings plus the monthly SIP, grown to retirement.
- Step 4Close the gap₹11,781 a monthThe extra SIP that would make the two match.
The planner has two phases on one timeline. Before retirement, money goes in each month. After retirement, money comes out each month, and the rest keeps earning.
One age timeline
- Saving: age 30 to 60₹20,000 a month inGrows at 10% a year. Invested at the start of each month.
- Retired: age 60 to 85₹2,87,175 a month outRises once a year with inflation. The balance earns 7% a year.
Worked example
Spending ₹50,000 a month today, retiring at 60 and planning until 85 needs about ₹7.48 crore. The default savings reach ₹5.03 crore.
- Expense at retirement
W = E × (1 + g)ⁿ- Corpus needed
C = W × a × (1 − qᴺ) ÷ (1 − q)- Projected corpus
B₀ × (1 + r)ⁿ + P × F
- Emonthly expenses today ₹50,000
- ginflation a year 6%
- nyears to retirement 30
- Nyears in retirement 25
- rreturn before retirement 10%
- q(1 + g) ÷ (1 + return after retirement) 1 + 6% over 1 + 7%
- aa year of ₹1 monthly withdrawals, valued at its start 11.6358
- B₀savings today ₹5,00,000
- Pmonthly SIP ₹20,000
- Fwhat ₹1 a month grows to 2,079.29
- Expense at retirement₹2,87,175 a month
- Corpus needed at 60₹7,48,06,969
- Today’s savings grow to₹87,24,701
- SIP grows to₹4,15,85,854
- Shortfall₹2,44,96,413
- Extra SIP a month₹11,781
Without the extra SIP, the projected corpus runs out at age 76 years 1 month. With it, the money lasts to the end of the plan, leaving about ₹0.
Reading the result
The return after retirement changes the corpus you need more than most people expect.
Starting later raises the monthly saving sharply, because each rupee has fewer years to grow.
What the estimate leaves out
- TaxesTax on gains and withdrawals is not deducted.
- FeesFund expenses and other charges are not included.
- Market swingsReturns are assumed steady; real returns go up and down.
- Pension and other incomeEPF, NPS, pension or rent income are not added.
Taking it further
The planner gives one combined estimate. Each phase can be explored on its own in more detail.
To see how long a corpus lasts under a fixed monthly withdrawal, use the SWP calculator. The pension calculator shows the income a corpus can pay for a set number of years.
For building the corpus, the SIP calculator adds a yearly step-up, and the NPS calculator and PPF calculator model those schemes’ own rules. To retire much earlier, try the FIRE calculator.
Common mistakes
Mistake: Entering expenses at today’s prices as the retirement amount.
Instead: Enter today’s expenses; the planner adds inflation for you.
Mistake: Using the same high return after retirement as before it.
Instead: Check a lower return after retirement too.
Mistake: Planning only to an average lifespan.
Instead: Plan to a later age so the money is less likely to run out early.
Mistake: Treating the result as a fixed target.
Instead: Review the plan each year as savings, costs and rates change.
This planner shows arithmetic on your assumptions. It does not recommend any product or amount. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme-related documents carefully.
Checking the method
A separate script recomputes every test case two ways, by closed form and month by month, and they must agree.
Read how we test our calculators, or browse more money calculators.