A simple retirement plan in two steps
- Accumulate: invest a monthly SIP until retirement. Raise it whenever your salary goes up.
- Withdraw: at retirement, start a monthly SWP from the corpus — ideally rising each year with a step-up to keep pace with prices.
The SIP with SWP calculator models both steps. Enter the SIP, the years until retirement, your first monthly withdrawal, how many years of income you want, the expected return, a yearly step-up and inflation.
How many years should the SWP last?
Life expectancy at 60 in India is about 18 years on average, but many people live into their 80s and 90s. A plan that lasts 25–30 years from retirement gives a margin for a long life. If the calculator shows the money running out at 80, either increase the SIP, retire a little later or start with a smaller withdrawal.
Worked example
A SIP of ₹15,000 a month for 25 years at 10% builds a corpus of roughly ₹2 crore. From that corpus, an SWP of ₹60,000 a month with a 5% yearly step-up still has money left after 40 years if the 10% return holds. At 6% for both phases, the SIP builds only about ₹1.04 crore and the same SWP runs out after about 16 years. Testing both is the whole point of a SIP with SWP calculator.
Don’t forget other income
Pensions, EPF, PPF maturity, NPS annuity and rent all reduce the amount your SWP must provide. Subtract them from your monthly need before choosing the withdrawal.