Retirement Calculator India (2026) – How Much Corpus Do You Need?

How to Use the Retirement Calculator

This retirement planner has three calculators built in — each answers a different retirement question:

• Corpus Needed: Find exactly how large a retirement fund you need. Enter your current age, planned retirement age, life expectancy, today’s monthly expenses, inflation rate, and expected post-retirement return. The calculator adjusts your expenses for inflation and tells you the corpus required.
• Monthly SIP Required: Know your target corpus? Find the monthly SIP you need to start today to reach it. Enter the corpus target, years to retirement, expected return, and existing savings — the calculator shows the exact monthly SIP needed.
• Am I on Track?: Check whether your current savings + ongoing SIP are enough to meet your retirement goal. Enter current savings, monthly investment, expected return, and target — and get a progress percentage with surplus or shortfall.

How Much Retirement Corpus Do You Need in India?

This is the most important question in retirement planning, and the answer is almost always larger than expected. Two forces work against you: inflation (which doubles expenses roughly every 12 years at 6%) and longevity (living into your 80s and 90s is increasingly common in India).

The 3.5% Withdrawal Rule for India

The popular 4% rule (from US research) says you can withdraw 4% of corpus annually and it lasts 30 years. In India, planners recommend 3% to 3.5% because Indian inflation is higher (6–7% vs 2–3%). At 3.5%, you need 28–29 times your annual retirement expenses as corpus.

Retirement Corpus Required – Ready Reference Table

Find your target corpus based on current monthly expenses and years to retirement. Assumes 6% inflation and 3.5% withdrawal rate.

*Assumes 6% annual inflation, 3.5% withdrawal rate, and 25-year post-retirement period.

Monthly SIP Required to Build Retirement Corpus

Once you know your target corpus, find the monthly SIP required at 12% p.a. (typical long-term equity return) for different time horizons.

EPF, NPS & SIP – How Much Each Contributes

Most salaried employees have multiple retirement savings running simultaneously but rarely know the combined projection. Here is a realistic breakdown for a salaried person earning ₹60,000/month basic salary, starting at age 30, retiring at 60.

Combined, this person builds approximately ₹5.93 crore — enough for a comfortable retirement with monthly expenses of ₹60,000–70,000 in today’s money (inflation-adjusted).

Key Points About EPF

• Employee: 12% of basic salary | Employer: 12% (but 8.33% goes to EPS pension)
• Current EPF interest rate: 8.25% p.a. — tax-free on maturity if held 5+ years
• Never withdraw EPF when changing jobs — transfer via UAN online. Each withdrawal destroys years of compounding
• Treat EPF as the guaranteed debt component of your retirement portfolio

Key Points About NPS

• Extra ₹50,000 deduction under Section 80CCD(1B) — over and above ₹1.5L of 80C (Old Regime only)
• At 30% tax bracket: ₹50,000 NPS saves ₹15,600 in tax annually
• 60% corpus is tax-free lump sum at retirement; 40% must purchase annuity
• Equity allocation up to 75% before age 50 in Active Choice mode

Step-by-Step Retirement Planning Guide (2026)

1. Set your retirement goal. Decide your target retirement age and lifestyle. Use the Corpus Needed calculator above to find your specific number. Write it down — it becomes your financial goal.
2. Calculate your current trajectory. Add up EPF balance, NPS corpus, mutual fund portfolio, PPF, FD. Use the Am I on Track? calculator to see your projected corpus vs target. Most people in their 30s find a gap — which is normal and fixable.
3. Bridge the gap with SIP. Use the Monthly SIP Required calculator to find the exact monthly investment needed. If the number seems high, consider a Step-Up SIP (10% annual increase) or extending retirement age by 2–3 years.
4. Allocate correctly by age. Age 25–40: 75–80% equity, 20–25% debt. Age 40–50: 65% equity, 35% debt. Age 50–55: 50% equity, 50% debt. Post-retirement: 30–40% equity, 60–70% debt.
5. Buy health insurance now. Medical costs inflate at 12–15% annually. A hospitalisation at 70 that costs ₹5 lakhs today will cost ₹30–40 lakhs in 25 years. Buy a comprehensive family health plan of ₹20–25 lakhs today while you are healthy and premiums are low.
6. Review annually, rebalance every 3 years. Retirement planning is not a one-time exercise. Update projections annually. Rebalance equity-debt allocation every 2–3 years. As you approach retirement within 5 years, shift aggressively towards safer instruments.