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Retirement & FIRE Calculator

Start from what you spend today. The calculator projects your expenses to retirement, works out the corpus that can pay them for as long as you plan, and shows the monthly SIP that gets you there.

Planning to 85-90 is prudent; running out of money late in life is the worst outcome.
Only what you will still spend after retiring (exclude EMIs that will end, children's fees, SIPs).
Returns
Lower, because a retiree's portfolio usually holds more debt.
Savings
Corpus needed at retirement
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Monthly expenses at retirement
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Starting SIP (with step-up)
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Flat monthly SIP needed
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Your retirement money, age by age

Plan summary

How this calculator works

Planning for retirement comes down to four questions, which the calculator answers in order.

  1. What will your expenses be when you retire? Today's monthly expenses grow with inflation until your retirement age: expenses × (1 + inflation)years to retirement.
  2. How big a corpus pays for them? In retirement, withdrawals rise with inflation every year while the corpus keeps earning. The corpus needed is the present value of all those withdrawals, using the real return (return after retirement adjusted for inflation), with each year's money taken out at the start of the year.
  3. How much will your existing savings cover? Current retirement savings grow at the pre-retirement return until you retire.
  4. What SIP closes the gap? The shortfall is divided by the future value of ₹1 a month (or ₹1 a month rising each year, for a step-up SIP).
Corpus = E × [1 − (1 + r′)−m] ÷ r′ × (1 + r′)
E = first-year expenses at retirement, m = years in retirement,
r′ = (1 + return after retirement) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1

A worked example

A 30-year-old spends ₹50,000 a month and wants to retire at 55, planning until 85. At 6% inflation, those expenses become about ₹2,14,594 a month (₹25,75,122 a year) by 55. With 7.5% returns after retirement, paying them for 30 years needs a corpus of about ₹6,34,80,281, around 25 times the first year's expenses.

Existing savings of ₹5,00,000 growing at 11% cover about ₹77,23,944 of that. The remaining ₹5,57,56,336 needs a flat SIP of about ₹35,054 a month for 25 years, or a SIP starting at about ₹14,913 that rises 10% every year. The second is usually easier, because it grows with your income.

What about the 25× (4%) rule?

The FIRE community's rule of thumb says you can retire when your investments are 25 times your annual expenses, withdrawing 4% in the first year. That rule comes from US data over 30-year retirements. With higher Indian inflation, and for anyone retiring early with 40 or 50 years ahead, 25× is thin: the calculator's present-value method usually asks for more. Our FIRE maths article tests how long 3%, 4% and 5% withdrawal rates last.

What the calculator leaves out

  • Uneven returns. A crash just after you retire hurts far more than one 20 years later. See sequence-of-returns risk.
  • Health costs. Medical inflation in India has run well above general inflation. Keep adequate health insurance and add a separate buffer.
  • Pensions and other income. If you will receive a pension, rent or an NPS annuity, reduce the monthly expenses you enter by that income.
  • Taxes on withdrawals and on interest after retirement.

Frequently asked questions

How much money do I need to retire in India?

It depends mainly on your expenses, how long you will be retired and the real return on your money. For someone retiring at 60, a corpus of roughly 20 to 25 times the first year's expenses is a common starting point; for early retirement, 30 to 40 times or more. Use the calculator with your own numbers.

Should I count EPF, PPF and NPS?

Yes. Enter their current value as retirement savings. Note that NPS requires part of the corpus to buy an annuity at exit, so treat the annuity income as a pension that reduces your expenses.

What inflation rate should I use?

India's consumer inflation has averaged roughly 5% to 6% over the last decade, with higher spells. Using 6% is a reasonable base case; test 7% to see how sensitive your plan is.

Why is the return after retirement lower?

Retirees usually hold more fixed income to reduce the risk of selling equity in a crash while they depend on withdrawals. A lower expected return is the cost of that stability.

This calculator is for education and planning. Results depend entirely on the assumptions you enter and are not a forecast, a guarantee or investment advice. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent to us. Read our disclaimer. Built and checked by Pradeep Rawal.