SWP Calculator. A monthly income from your corpus.
An SWP draws a fixed monthly income from a lump sum you have already invested. A ₹10,00,000 corpus earning 8% a year, with ₹10,000 withdrawn every month for 5 years, pays out ₹6,00,000 in total and still leaves ₹7,55,077 invested at the end. The corpus does not run out here: early monthly growth (about ₹6,667) is below the ₹10,000 withdrawal, so the balance drifts down gently from ₹10 lakh to ₹7.55 lakh rather than being exhausted.
SWP Calculator
The corpus lasts the full 5 years and still leaves ₹7,55,077 invested. At 8% the first month adds about ₹6,667 of growth against a ₹10,000 withdrawal, so the balance drifts down slowly.
| Year | Opening | Withdrawn | Closing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹1,20,000 | ₹9,58,500 |
| 2 | ₹9,58,500 | ₹1,20,000 | ₹9,13,556 |
| 3 | ₹9,13,556 | ₹1,20,000 | ₹8,64,881 |
| 4 | ₹8,64,881 | ₹1,20,000 | ₹8,12,167 |
| 5 | ₹8,12,167 | ₹1,20,000 | ₹7,55,077 |
Each year the balance grows at 8% and ₹1,20,000 is withdrawn across the twelve months. The yearly withdrawal outpaces the growth, so the corpus shrinks a little every year and ends at ₹7,55,077.
How an SWP actually works, month by month.
An SWP runs the same two steps every month. First the whole remaining balance grows at your expected return divided by twelve, then a fixed rupee amount is redeemed and paid to you. This calculator simulates all sixty months (for a five-year plan) one at a time rather than using a single formula, because the interesting cases are the ones where the money runs out partway through, and only a month-by-month loop can tell you the exact month that happens.
The single number that decides everything is whether your withdrawal is larger than the growth. On ₹10 lakh at 8%, the first month adds roughly ₹6,667, so a ₹10,000 withdrawal takes out about ₹3,333 more than the fund earned, and the balance edges down. As the balance falls, the growth in rupees falls with it, so a plan that looks fine early can accelerate toward zero later. When a withdrawal is smaller than the growth, the opposite happens: the corpus keeps rising even while it pays you, which is the sweet spot for a long retirement income.
If the balance ever cannot fund a full withdrawal, the calculator pays out whatever is left, marks the corpus as exhausted, and stops. It never shows a negative balance pretending the plan continues. That depletion month is the honest headline of any SWP: change the withdrawal, the corpus, or the tenure until the plan lasts as long as you need it to.
SWP vs simply keeping the money in an FD.
A fixed deposit or savings account can also pay you a regular income, and it does so with no market risk, which genuinely matters for money you cannot afford to see fall. But an SWP has two structural edges. First, the corpus stays invested and keeps compounding at a potentially higher return while it pays you, whereas FD interest is locked to the deposit rate. Second, and often larger, is tax. Each SWP withdrawal is part your own capital coming back and part capital gain, and only the gain is taxed. In an FD, the entire interest is taxed at your slab rate every year, even the part that merely offsets inflation.
The trade-off is real: an SWP rides market ups and downs, so a bad first few years can shrink the corpus faster than the model above suggests, since it assumes a steady return. Many retirees split the difference, keeping an emergency and near-term buffer in FDs or liquid funds and running an SWP on the rest. To see the other side of the same coin, model how the corpus was built with the SIP calculator or a one-time investment with the lumpsum calculator.
SWP calculator FAQ.
What is an SWP and how is it different from a dividend or IDCW plan? ▾
An SWP (Systematic Withdrawal Plan) is a standing instruction to your mutual fund to redeem a fixed rupee amount, usually monthly, from a lump sum you have already invested. The fund sells just enough units at the current NAV to pay you, and the rest stays invested and keeps compounding. This differs from a dividend or IDCW (Income Distribution cum Capital Withdrawal) plan, where the fund house, not you, decides whether to pay, when, and how much, so the payout is irregular and outside your control. An SWP gives you a predictable, self-set income while keeping the corpus working, which is why most planners now prefer it over IDCW for regular cash flow.
How are SWP withdrawals taxed in India? ▾
Every SWP withdrawal is treated as a partial redemption of units, so it is part return of your own capital and part capital gain. Only the gain portion is taxable, not the whole amount you receive, which is the core tax advantage over a fixed deposit where the entire interest is taxed. As of 26 August 2026, equity fund gains on units held over 12 months are long-term, taxed at 12.5% above a ₹1.25 lakh yearly exemption; units held 12 months or less are short-term at 20%. Debt fund gains on units bought after April 2023 are added to income and taxed at your slab rate. Tax law changes often, so verify the current rules with the Income Tax Department or a qualified tax adviser before acting.
How do I choose a withdrawal rate that makes the corpus last? ▾
A withdrawal is sustainable only when it stays below what the corpus earns; otherwise you eat into capital every month and the fund eventually runs dry. The well-known 4% rule, from US retirement research, suggests withdrawing about 4% of the starting corpus a year (rising with inflation) so the money lasts roughly 30 years. In India, with higher inflation and higher equity returns, many planners use a 4% to 6% starting band. The default on this calculator, ₹10,000 a month on ₹10 lakh, is a 12% annual rate, far above the assumed return, which is exactly why that corpus shrinks. Lower the withdrawal, or raise the corpus, until the yearly rate sits near or below your expected return.
Is an SWP a good way to draw a retirement income? ▾
Yes, an SWP is a popular way to turn a retirement corpus into a monthly, pension-like income. You keep the money invested, often in a hybrid or conservative equity fund, and draw a fixed amount each month for expenses. Two ideas make it durable: keep the withdrawal rate modest (near or below the expected return) so the corpus is not depleted too fast, and hold one to two years of withdrawals in a liquid or debt fund so you are not forced to sell equity units during a market crash. Reviewing the withdrawal amount every year against the remaining balance keeps the plan on track through a long retirement.
Can I change, pause, or stop the withdrawal amount later? ▾
Yes. An SWP is fully in your control, unlike an annuity. You can increase or decrease the monthly amount, pause it, or stop it entirely at any time by instructing the fund house or your platform, usually with no penalty beyond ordinary exit load and capital gains tax on the units sold. Many investors raise the amount each year to keep pace with inflation, or dial it down in a bad market year to protect the corpus. You can also run more than one SWP from the same folio. This flexibility is a big reason SWPs suit retirees who want an income they can adjust as life and markets change.