SWP Calculator
Plan a Systematic Withdrawal Plan and see how long your corpus lasts with regular monthly withdrawals.
A Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) lets you withdraw a fixed amount from your mutual fund investment every month while the balance stays invested. It is a popular way to generate a regular income in retirement — provided your withdrawal rate stays below the portfolio return, otherwise the corpus shrinks.
How to use the calculator
- Enter your starting corpus.
- Set the monthly withdrawal you need.
- Add the expected return your portfolio can earn.
- Choose the period and check the outcome — if the corpus runs out early, reduce the withdrawal or increase the return assumption.
How it is calculated
Worked example
₹50,00,000 corpus, ₹30,000 per month for 20 years at 8%
Total withdrawals = ₹72,00,000
The corpus keeps growing and is still around ₹69,63,000 after 20 years, because the withdrawal rate is below the return.
Who should use this calculator
- Retirees who want a regular monthly income from a mutual fund corpus instead of buying an annuity.
- Anyone testing whether a given corpus can support a fixed monthly withdrawal for a set number of years.
- Investors funding a recurring expense — rent, a parent's care, school fees — from accumulated savings.
- People comparing an SWP with fixed deposit interest for the income portion of their money.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Withdrawing more than the portfolio earns. If the corpus returns 8% and you withdraw 12% a year, the money will run out regardless of how the market behaves.
- Ignoring capital gains tax on every instalment. Each withdrawal is a redemption, and the gain portion is taxed. The calculator shows pre-tax results.
- Having no emergency fund outside the SWP. A separate cash cushion means you never have to sell in a falling market to cover an unexpected bill.
- Forgetting inflation. A fixed monthly withdrawal buys less every year, so the amount should be reviewed periodically.
- Fixing the withdrawal date without a plan for market falls. Skipping or reducing one withdrawal during a crash can add years to the life of the corpus.
How long will the corpus actually last?
The maths of an SWP is straightforward: each month the corpus grows by the return and shrinks by the withdrawal. With ₹50 lakh, a ₹30,000 monthly withdrawal and an 8% return, the withdrawals total ₹72 lakh over twenty years and the corpus is still about ₹69 lakh at the end — because the withdrawal rate is below the return.
Push the withdrawal to ₹50,000 a month and the same corpus behaves completely differently; the end balance is much smaller, and a weak decade could exhaust it entirely. That is the central risk of any withdrawal plan: the average return is not what matters, but the returns in the early years, when the corpus is largest. Keep the withdrawal rate modest and hold a cash buffer for bad years.
SWP terms explained
- SWP
- Systematic Withdrawal Plan — a facility that redeems a fixed amount from your investment every month.
- Withdrawal rate
- The annual withdrawal as a percentage of the corpus. Staying below the expected return is what keeps the money lasting.
- Sequence risk
- The risk that poor returns early in retirement do permanent damage, even if later returns are good.
- Depletion
- The point at which the corpus reaches zero. The calculator tells you how many years that takes.
- Cash buffer
- A separate reserve of a year or two of withdrawals, so you are not forced to sell investments in a downturn.
Working out your own withdrawal rate
The withdrawal rate is simply your annual withdrawal divided by the corpus. ₹30,000 a month on ₹50 lakh is ₹3.6 lakh a year, or about 7.2% — which is why that plan relies on an 8% return to survive. For a retirement that may last thirty years, many planners prefer a start closer to 4%, with the amount reviewed annually for inflation. Two habits protect a withdrawal plan: keep a year or two of withdrawals in cash so a market fall never forces a sale, and reduce the withdrawal slightly after a very poor year rather than cutting it dramatically after a crisis.
Frequently asked questions
When does an SWP make sense?
SWP is useful for retirees or anyone who needs regular cash flow from investments. It is more tax-efficient than a lumpsum withdrawal because only the gain portion of each withdrawal is taxed, and it avoids timing the market with one large redemption.
How do I know a safe withdrawal amount?
A common rule of thumb is to withdraw 3–4% of the corpus a year, which is about ₹25,000–₹33,000 a month on ₹1 crore. Withdrawing more than your portfolio earns will eventually exhaust it.
Is SWP income taxable?
Each withdrawal is treated as a redemption. For equity funds, gains above the annual exemption are taxed at capital gains rates depending on the holding period. The calculator shows pre-tax results.