SWP Calculator
Systematic Withdrawal Plan maths: draw a fixed amount from a corpus every month, optionally raise it each year for inflation, and see how long the money lasts or what is left.
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Adjust the inputs on the left to see your corpus left at the end.
A Systematic Withdrawal Plan is a SIP run backwards: instead of putting a fixed sum into a fund every month, you take a fixed sum out. The question it raises is the one every retirement plan comes down to — at this withdrawal rate, does the money last?
The convention, stated
The calculator takes the withdrawal at the start of each month and lets the remainder earn one month of return. If you ask for a yearly step-up, the withdrawal rises at the start of each new year. Different calculators use different conventions; this one is the more conservative of the two common ones, because money leaves before it earns.
₹50 lakh, ₹30,000 a month, 8%
| 20 years | |
|---|---|
| Total withdrawn | ₹72,00,000 |
| Corpus left at the end | ₹68,45,597 |
| Returns earned along the way | ₹90,45,597 |
The corpus grows while paying out ₹72 lakh. That is because ₹30,000 a month is ₹3,60,000 a year — 7.2% of the corpus — and the fund is assumed to earn 8%. As long as the withdrawal rate stays below the return, the balance never falls. At 8% on ₹50 lakh, the monthly return is ₹33,333; withdraw that and the corpus stays level for ever, in nominal terms.
Push the withdrawal past the return and the picture flips:
| Monthly withdrawal from ₹50 lakh at 8% | Corpus lasts |
|---|---|
| ₹30,000 | indefinitely |
| ₹35,000 | 36 years 8 months |
| ₹40,000 | 22 years 1 month |
| ₹50,000 | 13 years 8 months |
The jump from "for ever" to 22 years happens over a ₹10,000 change in the monthly figure. Withdrawal plans are sensitive near the break-even point, which is why the table is worth running for your own numbers.
Inflation is the part people leave out
₹30,000 a month is comfortable today and not in fifteen years. Raise the withdrawal 6% a year to keep pace, on the same ₹50 lakh at 8%, and the corpus that lasted indefinitely is gone in 17 years and 1 month — 205 months — by which time the monthly draw has reached ₹80,783.
Scaling up does not change the shape. ₹1 crore paying ₹60,000 a month with a 6% annual step-up at 7% lasts 15 years and 7 months. ₹1.84 crore on the same terms lasts 31 years and 3 months. If retirement at 60 has to fund thirty years, the second figure is the kind of corpus a ₹60,000-a-month lifestyle needs at a 7% return — and that is before tax.
Tax on SWP withdrawals
Each withdrawal is a redemption of units, and only the gain component is taxed — the fund sells the oldest units first, so early withdrawals are mostly your own principal. For equity funds held over a year, long-term gains above ₹1.25 lakh in a financial year are taxed at 12.5%; gains on units held under a year are taxed at 20%. Debt funds bought after 1 April 2023 are taxed at your slab rate regardless of holding period. An SWP started the month after a lump-sum purchase in an equity fund will also pay the exit load, typically 1% inside the first year. Start the withdrawals after twelve months, or seed the plan from an older holding.
SWP or dividend option?
An SWP pays you a fixed amount on a fixed date and is taxed only on the gain inside each withdrawal. A fund's dividend (IDCW) option pays whatever the fund declares, when it declares it, and the whole payout is taxed at your slab. For anyone wanting a predictable monthly credit, the SWP is the cleaner instrument.
What this calculator assumes
- A constant annual return, applied monthly. Real funds are volatile, and a poor first few years hurts a withdrawal plan far more than the same years late in the plan — the sequence-of-returns problem.
- Tax and exit load are not deducted; the withdrawal shown is gross.
- The step-up compounds yearly and is applied whether or not the corpus can bear it. When the corpus runs out, the months-lasted figure tells you when.
SWP — frequently asked questions
How long will ₹50 lakh last with a ₹30,000 monthly SWP?
At an 8% return, indefinitely — ₹30,000 a month is 7.2% of the corpus a year, below the 8% it earns, so after 20 years you have withdrawn ₹72 lakh and still hold ₹68.5 lakh. Raise the withdrawal to ₹40,000 and the corpus lasts 22 years 1 month; at ₹50,000 it is gone in 13 years 8 months.
What is the safe withdrawal amount from a corpus?
In nominal terms the corpus stays level if you withdraw no more than it earns: ₹50 lakh at 8% earns ₹33,333 a month. But a fixed rupee amount loses value to inflation, and stepping the withdrawal up 6% a year exhausts that same ₹50 lakh in 17 years 1 month. Plan on a withdrawal rate well below the return if the money has to last decades and keep pace with prices.
How is an SWP taxed?
Each withdrawal redeems units and only the gain inside it is taxed, oldest units first. Equity funds: 12.5% on long-term gains above ₹1.25 lakh a year (units held over 12 months), 20% on short-term gains. Debt funds bought after 1 April 2023 are taxed at your slab rate. Exit loads, usually 1% within the first year, apply to each redemption.
Is SWP better than the dividend option?
For a predictable monthly income, yes. An SWP pays a fixed amount on a fixed date and is taxed only on the gain portion; a dividend (IDCW) payout is whatever the fund declares, whenever it declares it, and is fully taxable at your slab rate.
Does the withdrawal come out before or after the month’s return?
Before. This calculator deducts the withdrawal at the start of each month and applies the monthly return to what remains, which is slightly more conservative than the alternative. Over 20 years on ₹50 lakh at 8% with ₹30,000 a month the two conventions differ by roughly one month’s return on the balance.
How much corpus do I need for ₹60,000 a month rising with inflation?
With a 6% yearly step-up and a 7% return, ₹1 crore lasts 15 years 7 months and ₹1.84 crore lasts 31 years 3 months. So a thirty-year retirement drawing ₹60,000 a month in today’s money needs roughly ₹1.8–1.9 crore at a 7% return, before tax.
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Results from this calculator are estimates for informational use only — not financial, medical, or professional advice. Read our full disclaimer before acting on any number you see here.