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AMFI-registered MFD · ARN-286779

Free SWP calculator

SWP calculator: how long will your money last?

Enter what you have and what you want each month. See how long it lasts, the tax, and what’s left, next to an FD.

Your numbers

₹ 50 lakh
₹ 30,000

Worked out on the actual past monthly returns of our model portfolio, four equity and two debt funds held 50:50, not an assumed rate. Past performance may or may not be sustained in future.

Your result

Your ₹ 30,000 a month, rising 5% a year, lasts all 25 years, and leaves ₹ 1.95 crore.

From an FD, the same withdrawals run out in year 15.

You receive
₹ 1.72 crore
Tax along the way
₹ 20.1 lakh
Left at the end
₹ 1.95 crore
What’s left each yearYour fundsAn FD
0₹ 1.07 crore₹ 2.14 croreYear 5Year 10Year 15Year 20Year 25
How this is worked outShow

Month by month, on the model portfolio’s past monthly returns over a 10-year window, repeated across your timeline. Each withdrawal comes out of every fund in proportion to its share. Markets can do worse than they did in that window.

Tax is on the gain in each withdrawal: 20% for equity in the first 12 months,12.5% after, and 30% for debt funds. The FD earns 7%, with interest taxed at 30%. The yearly equity-gains exemption, cess and surcharge are not included. An illustration, not a forecast or a promise of returns.

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The basics

What is an SWP? Your own monthly pay cheque.

A systematic withdrawal plan pays you a set amount from your mutual funds every month, by selling a few units each time. The rest stays invested, so it can keep growing while you draw on it.

An SWP compared with FD interest
CompareSWPFD interest
Your incomeYou can raise it every yearFixed
TaxOnly on the gain in each withdrawalAll the interest, at your slab rate
Its valueRises and falls with marketsDoesn’t fall
Best forIncome over many yearsMoney you need within about three years

A worked example

₹50 lakh, ₹30,000 a month, year by year.

₹30,000 a month from the first month, raised 5% every year, for 25 years. By year 25 the income is ₹ 96,800 a month. You take out ₹ 1.72 crore in all, pay ₹ 20.1 lakh in tax along the way, and still have ₹ 1.95 crore left. The same withdrawals from an FD run out in year 15.

Taken out in all
₹ 1.72 crore
Tax along the way
₹ 20.1 lakh
Left after 25 years
₹ 1.95 crore
From an FD
Runs out, year 15
₹30,000 a month from ₹50 lakh, rising 5% a year, over 25 years, next to an FD
YearA monthTaken outLeft in your fundsLeft in an FD
Year 1₹ 30,000₹ 3.6 lakh₹ 52.8 lakh₹ 48.8 lakh
Year 2₹ 31,500₹ 3.78 lakh₹ 53.4 lakh₹ 47.4 lakh
Year 3₹ 33,100₹ 3.97 lakh₹ 49.6 lakh₹ 45.7 lakh
Year 4₹ 34,700₹ 4.17 lakh₹ 49.5 lakh₹ 43.7 lakh
Year 5₹ 36,500₹ 4.38 lakh₹ 48.7 lakh₹ 41.5 lakh
Year 6₹ 38,300₹ 4.59 lakh₹ 62.3 lakh₹ 38.8 lakh
Year 7₹ 40,200₹ 4.82 lakh₹ 61.5 lakh₹ 35.9 lakh
Year 8₹ 42,200₹ 5.07 lakh₹ 65.9 lakh₹ 32.5 lakh
Year 9₹ 44,300₹ 5.32 lakh₹ 81.9 lakh₹ 28.7 lakh
Year 10₹ 46,500₹ 5.58 lakh₹ 78.7 lakh₹ 24.4 lakh
Year 11₹ 48,900₹ 5.86 lakh₹ 83.9 lakh₹ 19.6 lakh
Year 12₹ 51,300₹ 6.16 lakh₹ 85.6 lakh₹ 14.3 lakh
Year 13₹ 53,900₹ 6.47 lakh₹ 77.3 lakh₹ 8.4 lakh
Year 14₹ 56,600₹ 6.79 lakh₹ 77.3 lakh₹ 1.88 lakh
Year 15₹ 59,400₹ 7.13 lakh₹ 74.7 lakhRun out
Year 16₹ 62,400₹ 7.48 lakh₹ 1.16 croreRun out
Year 17₹ 65,500₹ 7.86 lakh₹ 1.17 croreRun out
Year 18₹ 68,800₹ 8.25 lakh₹ 1.33 croreRun out
Year 19₹ 72,200₹ 8.66 lakh₹ 1.83 croreRun out
Year 20₹ 75,800₹ 9.1 lakh₹ 1.76 croreRun out
Year 21₹ 79,600₹ 9.55 lakh₹ 1.93 croreRun out
Year 22₹ 83,600₹ 10 lakh₹ 2.04 croreRun out
Year 23₹ 87,800₹ 10.5 lakh₹ 1.85 croreRun out
Year 24₹ 92,100₹ 11.1 lakh₹ 1.95 croreRun out
Year 25₹ 96,800₹ 11.6 lakh₹ 1.95 croreRun out

What is left at the end of each year, on the model portfolio’s past monthly returns; the FD after tax on its interest. Past performance may or may not be sustained in future.

How to use it

The SWP calculator, in 4 steps.

  1. 1Enter what you have invested, or plan to invest.
  2. 2Enter what you want each month.
  3. 3Add a yearly increase to keep up with prices, if you want your income to rise.
  4. 4Choose for how many years. The result shows how long it lasts, the tax along the way, what’s left, and the same withdrawals from an FD.

How it’s worked out

The method, in plain English.

  • Month by month, your money earns the model portfolio’s actual past monthly returns, a 10-year window repeated across your timeline, with its ups and downs.
  • Each withdrawal comes out of every fund in proportion to its share, by selling units at that month’s price.
  • Only the gain in each withdrawal is taxed: 20% on equity in the first 12 months, 12.5% after, 30% on debt funds. The yearly exemption, cess and surcharge are left out.
  • The FD beside it earns 7% a year, with its interest taxed at 30%, and pays the same withdrawals until it runs out.

Each month, in one line

Left = (What was there × (1 + return)) − Withdrawal

  • Return: that month’s past return for each fund
  • Withdrawal: this year’s monthly amount

Run that 300 times, raising the withdrawal 5% every 12 months, and ₹50 lakh paying ₹30,000 a month ends with ₹ 1.95 crore after 25 years on these past returns. Lower returns, or a bad run early on, leave less: that’s why the review tests it.

Before you start an SWP

The number is the easy part. Keeping it going is the plan.

In a 20-minute review call, we’ll test your withdrawal at lower returns and show you how to keep your next three years outside the market.

Book a review callHow we plan retirement income

FAQs

Your questions about SWPs.

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

What is an SWP in mutual funds?
A systematic withdrawal plan pays you a set amount from a mutual fund every month, by selling some of your units each time. The rest stays invested. You choose the amount and the date, and you can change or stop it.
Is an SWP better than an FD for monthly income?
It depends on how long the money has to last. An FD’s value doesn’t fall, but all its interest is taxed and the income doesn’t rise. An SWP can pay an income that rises, and only the gain in each withdrawal is taxed, but its value goes up and down with markets. Many retirees use both: the next three years in an FD or the Senior Citizens’ Savings Scheme, the rest in funds. How we plan that.
How is an SWP taxed?
Each withdrawal is partly your own money coming back and partly gain, and only the gain is taxed, as a capital gain. The rate depends on the kind of fund and how long the units were held. This calculator uses 20% for equity gains in the first year, 12.5% after, and 30% for debt funds. Tax rules change with budgets, so check the current rates with your CA.
What returns does this calculator use?
The actual past monthly returns of our model portfolio, four equity funds and two debt funds held 50:50, over a 10-year window repeated across your timeline, not an assumed rate. Past performance may or may not be sustained in future, and markets can do worse than they did in that window.
How much can I withdraw every month?
Try a few amounts above and see when the money stops lasting. To find the most you can draw while what is left keeps growing, use our retirement income planner. In a review call we test your number at lower returns too.
What happens to my SWP when markets fall?
Each withdrawal sells more units when prices are low, which uses up the money faster. That is why we keep the next three years of withdrawals outside the market, so a bad year never forces you to sell.
How is an SWP worked out?
Month by month: what is left is what was there, plus that month’s return, minus your withdrawal. At a steady return r a month, a withdrawal W from B lasts for −ln(1 − rB ÷ W) ÷ ln(1 + r) months, or for ever if rB is more than W. Real returns are not steady, so this calculator works month by month on past returns.
Can I start an SWP from funds I already hold?
Yes. An SWP can be set up on most mutual fund schemes you already hold, with the amount, the date and the scheme you choose. Which scheme to draw from, and in what order, matters for tax and for how long the money lasts; we work that out in the review.
SWP or IDCW (dividend) for a monthly income?
An SWP pays the amount you choose, when you choose, and is taxed only on the gain in each withdrawal. An IDCW payout is decided by the fund, can vary or stop, and is taxed in full at your slab rate. For a planned monthly income, an SWP is usually the more predictable of the two.
Can an SWP go into loss?
The value of what is left can fall in a bad year, and a withdrawal can sell units for less than they cost. That is why we keep the next three years of withdrawals outside the market, so a bad year never forces a sale at a low.
Can I stop an SWP anytime?
Yes. You can stop, pause or change an SWP with a request to the fund house; the units you haven’t withdrawn stay invested. Check whether an exit load applies to units sold within the scheme’s exit-load period.
Can I run an SWP from a liquid fund?
Yes, and it can suit money you will use within a year or two, since a liquid fund moves very little. For income over many years, an SWP from a mix of funds has more room to grow, with the near years kept safe.

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