Retirement Calculator India

EPF (Employees' Provident Fund) is mandatory for salaried employees in companies with 20+ workers: 12% employee + 12% employer of basic salary, earning 8.25% interest. PPF (Public Provident Fund) is a 15-year voluntary scheme open to anyone, with ₹1.5L annual cap and ~7.1% interest. NPS (National Pension System) is voluntary market-linked retirement savings with 60% lump-sum + 40% mandatory annuity at retirement.

Depends on your asset mix. EPF returns ~8.25% (govt declared rate). PPF returns ~7.1%. NPS (with 75% equity option for under-50s) has historically returned 9-11% annually. For a typical diversified retirement portfolio: assume 9-10% nominal return for long-term India equity exposure, 7-8% for balanced. Inflation in India averages ~5-6% over long periods.

Limited withdrawal options exist: 75% after 1 month of unemployment (the rest after 2 months), full withdrawal at retirement (age 58) or 2 months of unemployment, and partial withdrawal for specific purposes (medical, home purchase, education, marriage). Tax-free if EPF account is 5+ years old and you withdraw at retirement. Otherwise taxable. EPF balance is also portable across employers via UAN.

If you're on the Old Tax Regime: YES. NPS lets you claim ₹50,000 above your ₹1.5L 80C limit under Section 80CCD(1B). That's a 30% tax benefit on ₹50k = ₹15,000 saved annually for high-rate earners. Plus market-linked growth potential. On the New Regime, this deduction doesn't apply, so NPS is less compelling for tax purposes.

Divide nominal balance by (1 + inflation)^years. So ₹3 Crore at retirement in 30 years, with 5% inflation: ₹3Cr / (1.05)^30 = ₹69.4 Lakh in today's money. This calculator does the math automatically — the 'in today's money' figure shows real purchasing power, which is what matters for retirement planning.

Of your employer's 12% EPF contribution, 8.33% (up to a salary cap of ₹15,000/month) goes to the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS). On retirement at 58, this provides a monthly pension. For most middle/high-earners, the EPS pension is modest (~₹7,000–10,000/month) because of the salary cap. The calculator above doesn't separately model EPS — it assumes the full 12% grows in EPF.

The 4% rule comes from US data assuming 60/40 equity/bond portfolio over 30 years. For India, with higher inflation and equity returns, some studies suggest a higher safe withdrawal rate (5-6%) may be sustainable, but with more variability. The 4% figure shown is a conservative starting point — actual sustainable withdrawal depends on your asset allocation and risk tolerance.

Rule of thumb: target 25-33× your desired annual retirement spending (the reciprocal of 4%/3% safe withdrawal). Want ₹10 Lakh/year in today's money? Aim for ₹2.5-3 Crore real value. Want ₹20 Lakh/year? Aim for ₹5-6 Crore. Add another buffer for healthcare and travel. Use the calculator to see what monthly contribution gets you there.