Plan Your FIRE Number (India)

Calculate how much your monthly SIP grows to over your investment horizon

Start with the SIP Calculator to model what your current monthly SIP amount grows to by your target retirement year. Enter your monthly investment amount, expected return rate, and investment tenure. Indian equity mutual funds — specifically diversified large-cap and Nifty 50 index funds — have historically returned 11–14% CAGR over 10+ year periods. For a conservative FIRE plan, use 10–11% pre-tax. For an aggressive plan with mid/small-cap allocation, 12–13% is defensible for 15+ year horizons. A ₹25,000/month SIP at 12% CAGR for 20 years grows to approximately ₹2.5 crore. At ₹50,000/month for 20 years at 12%, you get approximately ₹5 crore. This step establishes your baseline corpus from regular investments.

Tip: Use 10% CAGR for conservative projections and 12% for base case. Avoid using 15%+ — while some funds have achieved this, using it in planning creates false confidence and systematic underinvestment.

Model any lumpsum contributions to your FIRE corpus

In addition to monthly SIPs, most FIRE planners have periodic lumpsum inflows — annual bonuses, ESOP vesting proceeds, inherited money, or property sale proceeds. Use the Lumpsum Calculator to model each of these separately and add them to your SIP corpus from Step 1. A ₹10 lakh lumpsum invested at age 35 at 12% CAGR grows to approximately ₹51 lakh by age 55 — a 5x multiplication in 20 years. If you receive a ₹5 lakh annual bonus every year and invest it as lumpsum, that's approximately ₹2 crore additional corpus over 20 years at 12%. The lumpsum calculator is also useful for modelling NPS maturity amounts and EPF accumulation, both of which should be counted toward your retirement corpus.

Tip: Model each lumpsum separately for the years you actually expect to receive it, then sum them with your SIP corpus — don't average lumpsums into your monthly SIP, as timing matters for compounding.

Add a step-up to your SIP to keep pace with salary growth and inflation

A flat monthly SIP amount has declining real value over time because inflation erodes purchasing power. If you're earning ₹25,000/month today and invest that for 20 years, by year 20 that same ₹25,000 is worth much less in real terms — and your income has likely grown. The Inflation-Proof SIP calculator models an annual step-up of 5–10% per year on your SIP amount. If you increase your SIP by just 10% every year, a ₹10,000/month SIP becomes ₹67,000/month by year 20 — and the corpus grows dramatically compared to the flat SIP case. In FIRE planning, step-up SIPs are critical because early retirement requires a larger corpus to sustain a longer post-retirement life, and the step-up accelerates corpus accumulation in your peak earning years.

Tip: A 10% annual step-up roughly aligns with average Indian salary growth rates. If your career growth is faster, use 15% but cap it — step-up calculations can become unrealistically optimistic at high percentages over long horizons.

Calculate your FIRE corpus number using the 4% rule — India-adjusted

The FIRE Calculator finds the corpus you need to retire and generate your target monthly income indefinitely. The 4% rule (from US research) states that withdrawing 4% of your corpus annually gives a 95%+ probability of the corpus lasting 30+ years. In India, a more conservative 3–3.5% withdrawal rate is recommended due to: higher historical inflation (India CPI averages 5–6% vs US 2–3%), shorter history of Indian equity market returns, and political/regulatory uncertainty. If your target monthly expenditure at retirement is ₹1 lakh/month (₹12L/year), you need: at 4% withdrawal, ₹3 crore corpus. At 3% withdrawal, ₹4 crore corpus. Enter your desired monthly retirement income, expected inflation, and target corpus growth rate to find your FIRE number and check whether your SIP + lumpsum plan from Steps 1–3 reaches it by your target retirement year.

Tip: Build two scenarios: 'lean FIRE' (minimum essential expenses only) and 'fat FIRE' (current lifestyle maintained). The gap between them tells you the cost of lifestyle flexibility in retirement — usually 30–50% more corpus.