Retirement Corpus Calculator

What is a Retirement Corpus?

A retirement corpus is the total amount of money you need at retirement to fund your living expenses for the rest of your life. It must account for inflation, investment returns, and the number of years you expect to be in retirement.

Key Factors in Corpus Calculation

• Expenses: Your current and expected retirement lifestyle
• Inflation: How much prices will rise over time
• Investment returns: How your money will grow
• Time horizon: How many years your money needs to last
• Other income: Pension, Social Security, rental income

The Expenses Multiple Approach

A common rule of thumb is that you need 25-30 times your annual expenses at retirement. This comes from the 4% withdrawal rule - if you withdraw 4% annually, your corpus should last 30+ years.

• 25x rule: 4% withdrawal rate
• 33x rule: 3% withdrawal rate (more conservative)
• Adjust for inflation: Use real (inflation-adjusted) returns

Inflation Impact

Inflation is the silent killer of retirement plans. At 6% inflation:

• Expenses double every 12 years
• 50,000/month today becomes ~1.6 lakh/month in 20 years
• Your corpus needs to grow faster than inflation

Strategies to Build Your Corpus

• Start early - compound growth is powerful
• Maximize tax-advantaged accounts (EPF, PPF, NPS in India; 401k, IRA in US)
• Gradually increase savings rate with income growth
• Invest in growth assets when young, shift to stability near retirement
• Consider part-time work in early retirement to reduce withdrawal needs

Post-Retirement Strategy

• Maintain some equity exposure for growth
• Keep 2-3 years expenses in safe, liquid assets
• Consider annuities for guaranteed income
• Plan for healthcare costs, especially in later years
• Review and adjust withdrawal strategy annually