A Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) is the mirror image of a SIP: instead of adding money every month, you take a fixed amount out while the rest stays invested. It is the standard way to turn a retirement corpus into a monthly income â called an SWP in India, a drawdown or systematic withdrawal in the UK and US, and an account-based pension in Australia. The arithmetic is the same everywhere.
Amounts are shown in your own currency and your own convention â âš lakh and crore, $ and ÂŖ million, or ä¸ and å â and you can switch country from the header at any time. Nothing is converted; only the way the numbers are written changes.
What is the safe withdrawal rate? The best-known answer is the American 4% rule â draw 4% of your starting corpus in year one and raise it with inflation thereafter. It came from US market history over 30-year retirements and is a rule of thumb, not a law.
What this calculator shows instead. The "Safe Monthly Draw" figure is worked out from your numbers: it is the amount your corpus earns above inflation, so the capital is never eaten into. If your return is 8% and inflation is 6%, the real return is under 2% â and the sustainable draw is far smaller than the nominal 8% suggests. That gap is the single most common mistake in retirement planning.
Why does my corpus sometimes still grow? When your withdrawal is smaller than the return, the surplus stays invested and compounds. The balance line in the chart rises rather than falls.
India. A Systematic Withdrawal Plan from a mutual fund. Widely used to draw a monthly income from a retirement corpus while the balance stays invested in debt or hybrid funds.
United States. Systematic withdrawals from a brokerage account, IRA or 401(k). Note that traditional accounts carry Required Minimum Distributions from your seventies, which this tool does not model.
United Kingdom. Flexi-access drawdown from a pension pot, usually after taking the 25% tax-free lump sum.
Canada and Australia. A RRIF in Canada or an account-based pension in Australia, both of which have minimum annual withdrawal percentages set by age.
Does this account for inflation? Yes. Set the "Raise Withdrawal Yearly" field and your monthly income grows each year so your lifestyle keeps pace. Set it to 0 to model a flat withdrawal instead.
How long will my money last? The "Corpus Lasts" figure tells you exactly, in years and months. If it runs out before your horizon the result turns red and the year-by-year table shows the year it happens.
Is the withdrawal taxed? Tax treatment differs sharply by country and by the type of account, so this tool reports pre-tax figures except in India, where the rules are modelled. Check your own country's treatment before relying on the number.
