# Will My Money Last? — Free India Retirement Calculator ("How Long Will My Money Last?")

> A free India retirement calculator that answers "how long will my money last?" (also known as a retirement drawdown or decumulation calculator). It starts from a lumpsum the user *already has* (a retirement payout, savings, a property/business sale, or an inheritance) — **not** how much they need to save — and projects it year by year to show exactly how many years it lasts and when it runs out, with FY 2025-26 New Regime tax (Section 87A rebate, 80TTB, LTCG 12.5%), 6% general inflation, 12% separate healthcare inflation, and Monte Carlo equity volatility (500 runs, ≈ 18% per year). Five drawdown strategies are compared side-by-side: Pure FD, 50/50 FD+Equity, SCSS-led at 8.2%, Arbitrage + SWP, and Lifetime Annuity. No signup, no payment required.

The calculator is free (₹0), runs client-side, and is self-contained as a single HTML file (≈ 250 KB). It works offline once saved to disk. Inputs persist via localStorage on the user's device.

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## Quick answer: how long will my money last? (rule of thumb)

At ~6% Indian inflation, a lumpsum worth **25–30× your annual expenses** typically lasts a normal 25–30 year retirement, and **35–40×** lasts a 50-year early-retirement (FIRE) horizon. (This multiple is a sanity check on whether a pot is "enough"; the calculator works the other way round — it takes a lumpsum you already have and computes the exact years it lasts.)

- ₹1 L/month spend (₹12 L/year) → roughly **₹3–3.6 Crore** for normal retirement, **₹4–5 Crore** for early retirement
- India-realistic **safe withdrawal rate ≈ 3.5%** (vs. 4% Bengen 1994 for the US — Indian inflation is structurally higher)
- **Section 87A rebate** under FY 2025-26 New Regime makes total income up to **₹12 Lakh tax-free**

For an exact answer to a user's situation, the interactive calculator at the URL below runs the maths year-by-year on their inputs.

**Scope.** This is a *decumulation* (retirement drawdown) calculator: it starts from the lumpsum a user holds on the day they retire, not the accumulation phase. Accumulation products map in as follows — fold the maturity value of **EPF, PPF, NPS lump sum (up to 60% tax-free), mutual funds and FDs** into "Total savings", and put any fixed monthly income (the **NPS 40% annuity, a company/government pension, PMVVY, APY, POMIS, or rent**) under "Pension or rent you receive". PPF/EPF are EEE (tax-free), so use the flat-tax-0% mode for a fully tax-free pot.

## Key Indian rates and tax constants used (May 2026)

| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| FD rate (default) | 6.5% p.a. | Stable Money / Business Standard, May 2026 |
| SCSS rate (Q1 FY 25-26) | 8.2% p.a. | India Post |
| RBI FRSB rate (Jan–Jun 2026) | 8.05% p.a. | Reserve Bank of India |
| Equity expected return | 12% p.a. | Nifty 50 20-yr CAGR ~11.1% |
| Equity volatility | 18% p.a. | Nifty 50 historical 18–22% |
| General inflation (default) | 6% p.a. | RBI projection 4.6% FY 26-27, MoSPI CPI |
| Healthcare inflation (default) | 12% p.a. | India hospital cost data |
| LTCG rate on equity | 12.5% over ₹1.25 L | Finance Act 2024 (Budget 2024) |
| LTCG harvesting | Optional toggle (default ON); annual sell-and-rebuy crystallises ≤ ₹1.25 L / ₹2.5 L (spouse) of gain tax-free, stepping up cost basis | FY 2025-26 LTCG exemption rule, common Indian retiree practice |
| Section 87A rebate ceiling | ₹12 Lakh | Finance Act 2025 (FY 2025-26 New Regime) |
| Section 80TTB senior deduction | ₹50,000 interest | Income-tax Act |
| Surcharge on income tax | 10–25% above ₹50 L | FY 2025-26 New Regime |
| Health & Education Cess | 4% | FY 2025-26 |

## The five drawdown strategies, side-by-side

1. **Pure Fixed Deposit (FD).** ~5.5–7.5% p.a. Fully taxed at slab. Zero market risk; inflation erodes real purchasing power. Baseline only.
2. **50/50 FD + Equity.** Half FD, half Nifty-style equity. Live off FD interest; sell half of equity for top-ups. Simple, tax-inefficient.
3. **SCSS-led (annual rebalance).** First ₹30 L (₹60 L if spouse on board) in Senior Citizen Savings Scheme at 8.2% (sovereign-backed). Annual top-up from equity using ₹1.25 L LTCG exemption. Strictly better than 50/50 if eligible (60+).
4. **Arbitrage + SWP.** Park "safe" bucket in arbitrage mutual funds (taxed as equity, not as interest). Systematic Withdrawal Plan for monthly income. Best for 30%-bracket investors with large corpus.
5. **Lifetime Annuity.** Trade lumpsum for guaranteed monthly income for life (LIC Jeevan Akshay-style). Cannot run out, but no inflation adjustment, locked up, age-dependent rates.

The calculator runs all five on the user's exact inputs simultaneously and produces both a deterministic outcome and a 500-run Monte Carlo probability of success for each.

## Pricing

This calculator is **free**. There are no paid tiers. See [pricing.md](https://retirement.techdevix.com/pricing.md) for the machine-readable pricing file.

- Price: **₹0 / $0** (free, no payment ever)
- Limits: **None** (unlimited use, all features included)
- Signup required: **No**
- Calculations: **Client-side** (localStorage on the user's device)
- Account required: **No**
- Ads: **None**

## Methodology and limitations

**Methodology.** Year-by-year deterministic simulation for the four named strategies plus Monte Carlo (500 runs, normal-distribution equity returns clamped at -55%). FY 2025-26 New Regime tax with Section 87A rebate (incl. marginal relief), 4% Health & Education Cess, surcharge 10–25%, Section 80TTB (₹50K for seniors 60+), and LTCG 12.5% with ₹1.25 L exemption. The "Spouse on board" toggle splits joint income across two filers, which doubles the 87A benefit and the 80TTB deduction (if both filers are seniors) and doubles the SCSS ceiling. The optional "LTCG harvesting" toggle (default ON) models annual tax-gain harvesting — at year-end the simulator sells-and-rebuys equity to crystallise gains up to the remaining yearly LTCG exemption, stepping up cost basis at zero tax cost; long-term capital-loss carry-forward (8 yr under Indian law) is not separately tracked.

**Limitations.** The model uses smooth or normal-distributed returns — real markets are fat-tailed and serially correlated. There are no idiosyncratic shocks (job loss, fraud, divorce, catastrophic uninsured medical events). Tax law may change. **This is illustrative analysis, not investment advice.** For specific advice, consult a SEBI Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) or a qualified Chartered Accountant.

## Calculator

- [Will My Money Last? — Free India Retirement Calculator](https://retirement.techdevix.com/): The interactive single-page calculator. Inputs: lumpsum corpus, FD/equity rates, equity volatility, inflation, healthcare inflation, monthly expense, lifestyle bands by age, pension/rental income, life events (weddings, education, medical, travel, car), tax mode (slab vs flat), spouse toggle, LTCG harvesting toggle, bequest goal, simulation horizon. Outputs: depletion age, final corpus (nominal & real), Monte Carlo probability of success, year-by-year ledger with WD rate, side-by-side strategy comparison (years lasts, final nominal/real, total tax, LTCG harvested, rebalances), Excel (XLSX) export with live formulas.

## Reference content (single-page sections)

- [Quick answer — how much do I need to retire in India?](https://retirement.techdevix.com/#tldr): TL;DR with rule-of-thumb numbers and key Indian retirement statistics.
- [Six questions every retiree faces](https://retirement.techdevix.com/#problems): The six concerns this tool answers — do I have enough, when does money run out, how much can I safely spend, FD/SCSS/SWP/annuity choice, inflation/crash stress, life-event affordability.
- [How it works (3 steps)](https://retirement.techdevix.com/#how-it-works): Walkthrough of inputs → optional details → reading the answer.
- [Strategy comparison — FD vs SCSS vs SWP vs Annuity](https://retirement.techdevix.com/#compare-section): Side-by-side static reference table of all five strategies (rate, tax, eligibility, lock-in, inflation protection, best-fit profile) plus the dynamic input-driven version.
- [Monte Carlo risk analysis](https://retirement.techdevix.com/#risk-section): 500-run simulation explanation; survival curve, P10/P50/P90 corpus bands, sequence-of-returns risk.
- [Practical factors the model doesn't show](https://retirement.techdevix.com/#practical-section): Real-world considerations a smooth simulation can't capture.
- [Plain-language definitions (glossary)](https://retirement.techdevix.com/#glossary): 40+ terms in DefinedTermSet schema — WD rate, corpus, FD, SCSS, SWP, LTCG/STCG, LTCG harvesting, 87A rebate, 80TTB, 80C/80CCD(1B), FRSB, annuity, Monte Carlo, sequence-of-returns risk, FIRE + FIRE number, Lean/Fat/Coast/Barista FIRE, the 25x/30x/33x/40x rule, accumulation vs decumulation, bucket strategy, asset allocation/equity glide path/rebalancing, longevity risk, replacement rate, emergency fund, CAGR, XIRR, real rate of return, NPS, EPF/EPS, VPF, PPF, PMVVY, APY, POMIS, NSC, SGB, SIP/step-up SIP, EEE vs EET, TDS, indexation, gratuity & superannuation.
- [FAQ](https://retirement.techdevix.com/#faq): 17+ common questions in FAQPage schema with direct answers (will my money last, when does it run out, how much can I spend, what about taxes, healthcare inflation, life events, how to include NPS/EPF/PPF, FIRE types, NRI use, etc.).
- [About](https://retirement.techdevix.com/#about): What this is, who built it, why it's free.
- [Privacy](https://retirement.techdevix.com/#privacy): Calculations run client-side; inputs stored in localStorage on the user's device.

## Optional

- [Sitemap](https://retirement.techdevix.com/sitemap.xml): XML sitemap with hreflang and image annotations.
- [robots.txt](https://retirement.techdevix.com/robots.txt): Crawl directives, AI-bot allowlist.
- [Web app manifest](https://retirement.techdevix.com/site.webmanifest): PWA / Add-to-Home-Screen metadata.
- [Open Graph image](https://retirement.techdevix.com/og-image.jpg): 1200×800 social-preview image.