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SWP Calculator

Systematic Withdrawal Plan — Calculate how long your retirement corpus lasts and find the sustainable monthly withdrawal amount that never depletes your wealth.

Corpus & Withdrawal Details

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Your retirement corpus / total invested amount
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Amount you wish to withdraw each month
%
Expected portfolio return while withdrawing
years
How long you plan to withdraw
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Enter corpus and withdrawal details to see your SWP plan

About SWP — Systematic Withdrawal Plan

A Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) allows you to withdraw a fixed amount from your mutual fund corpus at regular intervals. It is commonly used during retirement to create a monthly income stream while keeping the remaining corpus invested and growing.

How SWP Works

Each month, your corpus first earns returns at the portfolio rate, and then the withdrawal amount is deducted. If returns exceed the withdrawal, the corpus grows. If withdrawals exceed returns, the corpus gradually depletes.

Sustainable Withdrawal Rate

  • The sustainable monthly withdrawal = Corpus × Monthly Return Rate. At this amount, you withdraw only the interest — the principal stays intact forever.
  • For a ₹1 Cr corpus at 8% return: Sustainable = ₹1,00,00,000 × (8%/12) ≈ ₹66,667/month.
  • Withdrawing above this rate gradually depletes the corpus.

SWP Tax Advantages

  • SWP from equity funds: LTCG of 10% (beyond ₹1L gain in a year) if held over 12 months.
  • Much more tax-efficient than FD interest, which is fully taxable as per slab.
  • Each SWP redemption is treated as a separate transaction — earlier units redeemed first (FIFO).

SWP vs FD Interest — Which Is Better?

  • FD Interest: Fully taxable at slab rate (30% for highest bracket). Real return is lower.
  • SWP from Equity MF: Only capital gain portion is taxable; return portion is tax-free.
  • Inflation: SWP corpus can grow with equity returns, protecting against inflation. FD may not.

Tips for a Successful SWP

  • Keep 1–2 years of expenses in liquid fund / FD as buffer before starting SWP.
  • Withdraw less than the sustainable rate for corpus preservation.
  • Review and adjust withdrawal annually based on returns and expenses.
  • Use a mix of debt and equity to balance growth and stability.

SWP — convert a corpus into reliable monthly income

A Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) is the standard tool used by retirees, parents funding ongoing expenses, and anyone converting accumulated wealth into a regular income stream. You park a corpus in a mutual fund and instruct the AMC to send you a fixed amount on a fixed date every month. The remaining corpus continues to earn returns at the fund's rate.

The MONEX MINT SWP calculator answers two questions: How long will my corpus last at this withdrawal rate? and What is the maximum monthly amount I can take without depleting capital? Use it to plan retirement income, child education funding, or any goal where you need a predictable monthly outflow from a lumpsum.

How it's calculated

Monthly simulation:
  Balance_new = Balance_old × (1 + r) − Withdrawal

where r = monthly return = annualReturnRate / 12 / 100

Sustainable monthly withdrawal (corpus preserved):
  Sustainable W = Corpus × r

Corpus exhausted when Balance ≤ 0.
  • Corpus — Initial lumpsum invested in the fund
  • Withdrawal — Amount withdrawn at the end of each month
  • r — Monthly return on the remaining corpus
  • Sustainable W — Withdrawal that exactly equals monthly return — capital is preserved

Worked example — ₹50 lakh corpus, ₹40,000/month at 9% p.a.

  1. Initial corpus: ₹50,00,000 in a balanced advantage fund returning 9% p.a.
  2. Monthly withdrawal: ₹40,000
  3. Monthly return rate: 9 / 12 / 100 = 0.75% per month
  4. Month 1: corpus grows by 0.75% → ₹50,37,500. Withdraw ₹40,000 → ₹49,97,500.
  5. Each month, corpus grows by ~0.75% then drops by ₹40,000.
  6. At ₹40,000/month and 9% return, sustainable rate is ₹50L × 0.75% = ₹37,500. You are withdrawing slightly more than that.
  7. Over 25 years, the corpus runs down slowly to about ₹35 lakh (in nominal terms).

Result: A ₹40,000 monthly withdrawal is just above sustainable. The corpus shrinks slowly. To keep capital intact, drop to ₹37,500/month — or to grow capital alongside withdrawals, drop to ₹30,000/month.

Sustainable monthly withdrawal vs corpus and return

CorpusAt 7% returnAt 9% returnAt 11% return
₹25,00,000₹14,580₹18,750₹22,920
₹50,00,000₹29,170₹37,500₹45,830
₹1,00,00,000₹58,330₹75,000₹91,670
₹2,00,00,000₹1,16,670₹1,50,000₹1,83,330
₹5,00,00,000₹2,91,670₹3,75,000₹4,58,330

Tips and best practices

  • Pick a fund category aligned to your withdrawal horizon. For 5+ years, balanced advantage or hybrid equity. For under 3 years, prefer debt or arbitrage funds.
  • Set the SWP date a few days AFTER your typical income credit date so you have buffer in your bank account.
  • Review every 12 months. Inflation eats real income — consider a 5-6% annual increase in your SWP amount.
  • Keep at least 6 months of withdrawals in liquid funds to avoid redeeming during a market crash.
  • For tax efficiency, use SWP from equity funds held over 12 months (LTCG 12.5% with ₹1.25L exemption) over FDs (slab rate on full interest).
  • Don't SWP from ELSS funds during the 3-year lock-in — units cannot be redeemed.
  • If you need a fixed amount AFTER tax, gross up: net needed × (1 / (1 − tax rate)).

Frequently asked questions

What is a Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP)?
SWP is a feature offered by mutual funds where you withdraw a fixed amount every month (or quarter) from your investment, while the rest of the corpus stays invested and continues to earn returns. It is the mirror image of a SIP — instead of putting money in regularly, you take it out regularly.
How is SWP different from dividend payouts?
SWP gives you a fixed amount of your choosing on a date of your choosing — by redeeming units. Dividends (now called IDCW) are paid out at the AMC's discretion in amounts they decide, and the NAV drops by the dividend amount. SWPs are far more predictable for income planning.
How is SWP taxed in India?
Each SWP withdrawal is treated as a partial redemption of units. For equity funds, units held over 12 months are LTCG (12.5% on gains over ₹1.25L per year, post Budget 2024). Equity STCG is 20%. Debt funds (post-Apr 2023 units) are taxed at slab rate regardless of holding period. Only the GAIN portion is taxed, not the principal.
What is a sustainable monthly withdrawal rate?
A withdrawal rate at which your corpus does not deplete over the planned horizon. As a rule of thumb, withdrawing roughly the corpus times the monthly return rate keeps capital intact (e.g. ₹50,000/month from ₹1Cr at 6% p.a. ≈ corpus × 0.5%/month). The MONEX MINT calculator computes this exactly.
Can I do SWP from any mutual fund?
Yes — SWP is available on virtually every open-ended mutual fund (equity, debt, hybrid). Most AMCs require a minimum SWP amount (often ₹500–₹1,000) and a minimum balance to start. ELSS funds allow SWP only after the 3-year lock-in.
SWP vs FD — which is better for retirees?
For retirees, an SWP from a balanced or debt-hybrid fund typically beats an FD on after-tax returns over 5+ years because (a) only the gain portion is taxed, while FD interest is fully taxed at slab, and (b) market-linked returns historically outperform FD rates. FDs win on certainty and simplicity.
What return rate should I assume for SWP?
For conservative retirees, 7–8% (debt-oriented hybrid fund). For balanced approach, 9–10% (balanced advantage fund). Equity-oriented SWPs can target 11–12%, but with much higher year-to-year volatility. Use a return below your fund's long-term average to build a safety margin.
What happens if my SWP amount is too high?
Your corpus depletes faster than returns can replenish it, and eventually runs out. The calculator shows you exactly when. If you see "fully depleted" with months remaining, reduce your monthly withdrawal or increase your assumed return.

Related calculators

SIP CalculatorWealth from regular monthly investmentsLumpsum CalculatorFuture value of a one-time investmentGoal PlanningRequired SIP for any future targetXIRR CalculatorTrue annualized return on irregular flowsInflation CalculatorFuture value of money over timeReal Rate of ReturnReturn after inflation adjustment

Returns shown are illustrative. Mutual fund returns are not guaranteed and depend on the underlying fund and market conditions. Past performance does not predict future returns.