Arthneeti

Retirement Calculator

Plan your retirement corpus and monthly SIP needed

Yr
Yr
₹
%
%
Retirement Corpus Needed
₹11.53 Cr
Monthly SIP Required
₹17,750
Years to retirement35 years
Monthly expense at retirement₹3.84 L
Corpus needed (25x annual)₹11.53 Cr
SIP needed per month₹17,750

What is Retirement Planning?

Retirement planning is the process of determining how much money you need to maintain your desired lifestyle after you stop working, and creating a strategy to accumulate that corpus. In India, where social security is minimal and joint family support is declining, building your own retirement corpus is no longer optional -- it is essential. The biggest challenge is inflation: what costs Rs 50,000 per month today will cost Rs 2.87 lakh in 30 years at 6% inflation. This calculator uses the 25x rule, which means your corpus should be 25 times your expected annual expenses at retirement. It then calculates the monthly SIP amount needed in equity mutual funds to reach that corpus, assuming a reasonable rate of return. Starting early is the single most important factor -- a 25-year-old needs to invest roughly one-third of what a 35-year-old needs for the same retirement goal.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much corpus do I need to retire in India?▾
A common rule of thumb is to accumulate 25-30 times your annual expenses at retirement (adjusted for inflation). For example, if your current monthly expense is ₹50,000 and you plan to retire in 30 years with 6% inflation, your monthly expense at retirement will be approximately ₹2.87 lakh. You would need a corpus of roughly ₹8.6 crore (25x annual expense) to sustain a 30-year retirement. This follows the 4% withdrawal rule, which suggests withdrawing 4% of your corpus annually to make it last through retirement.
What is the 4% rule for retirement?▾
The 4% rule, developed by financial planner William Bengen, states that you can withdraw 4% of your retirement corpus in the first year and adjust for inflation each subsequent year, and your money should last at least 30 years. For Indian investors, some financial planners suggest using a more conservative 3-3.5% withdrawal rate due to higher inflation (6-7% vs 2-3% in the US). This means you need approximately 28-33 times your annual retirement expenses as your target corpus.
At what age should I start planning for retirement in India?▾
The ideal time to start retirement planning is in your 20s, as soon as you begin earning. Starting at age 25 vs 35 makes a dramatic difference due to compounding. To build a ₹5 crore corpus by age 60: starting at 25, you need about ₹5,000/month SIP at 12% returns; starting at 35, you need about ₹18,000/month. That is 3.6x more monthly investment for the same goal. Even if you can only start with ₹1,000-2,000/month, beginning early and gradually increasing your SIP amount is far better than waiting.
What are the best retirement investment options in India?▾
For long-term retirement planning in India, a diversified approach works best: (1) EPF/VPF for guaranteed 8.25% returns with tax benefits. (2) NPS for additional tax deduction of ₹50,000 under Section 80CCD(1B) beyond the 80C limit. (3) PPF for risk-free, tax-free returns. (4) Equity mutual funds (index funds or flexicap) for inflation-beating growth. (5) ELSS for tax-saving with equity exposure. A typical allocation for someone in their 20s-30s could be 60-70% equity mutual funds, 15-20% EPF/PPF, and 10-15% NPS.
How does inflation impact retirement planning?▾
Inflation is the silent killer of retirement plans. India's average CPI inflation has been 6-7% over the past two decades. At 6% inflation, the purchasing power of ₹1 lakh today will be equivalent to just ₹31,180 in 20 years. This means if you spend ₹50,000/month today, you will need approximately ₹1.6 lakh/month in 20 years to maintain the same lifestyle. Healthcare inflation in India is even higher at 10-14% per year. This is why your retirement corpus must be invested in instruments that beat inflation, not just parked in FDs or savings accounts.

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