How does EPF build a retirement corpus?

Under the EPF scheme both employee and employer contribute 12% of basic salary each month. The employee's 12% and most of the employer's share go into the provident fund, which compounds at the EPF interest rate (around 8.1–8.25% in recent years). Over a full career this becomes the largest pillar for many salaried Indians.

What does NPS add on top?

The National Pension System is a market-linked retirement account. Contributions grow with the chosen equity/debt mix, and at retirement at least 40% of the corpus must buy an annuity for a regular pension, with the rest taken as a lump sum. NPS also offers an extra ₹50,000 tax deduction under Section 80CCD(1B).

The Public Provident Fund is a 15-year government savings scheme paying a notified rate (around 7.1%) with tax-free interest and an EEE status. It is a safe, debt-like pillar — useful for stability alongside the higher-growth NPS equity component.

How is the monthly income estimated?

The tool converts your total corpus to income using a simple safe-withdrawal estimate (around 4% a year). This is an approximation — actual NPS pensions depend on the annuity rate you buy, and EPF/PPF can be drawn down differently. Treat it as a planning guide.

Does this account for inflation and tax?

Not directly. The figures are in today's rupees at the returns you enter; high inflation will erode their real value over time. EPF and PPF interest is largely tax-free, but NPS withdrawals and annuity income have their own tax treatment. Confirm specifics with an adviser.

India Pension & Retirement Calculator

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This India retirement calculator projects the corpus you will build from the three main pillars Indian savers use — EPF, NPS and PPF — and converts it into an estimated monthly income at retirement. It grows each pot separately at the return you expect, so you can see which pillar is doing the heavy lifting.

How it works

EPF contributions are based on basic salary: the employee pays 12% and the employer 12%, and the fund compounds monthly at the EPF rate. The tool grows your existing EPF balance plus ongoing 12% + 12% contributions to retirement.

NPS and PPF are grown as compounding pots from their current balances plus your contributions — monthly for NPS, annually for PPF — at the returns you set (NPS market-linked, PPF around 7.1%).

The combined corpus is converted to income with a simple safe-withdrawal estimate:

annual income ≈ total corpus × 4%

so the monthly figure is that divided by 12. NPS in practice requires at least 40% to buy an annuity, which the 4% drawdown approximates.

Example

A saver aged 35 retiring at 60, with ₹6,00,000 basic salary, an existing ₹8,00,000 EPF balance, ₹5,000/month into NPS and ₹1,50,000/year into PPF, at EPF 8.15%, NPS 10% and PPF 7.1%, builds a combined corpus running into several crore over 25 years. At a 4% drawdown that is a meaningful monthly income, with EPF typically the largest single pillar for a long salaried career.

Notes

Figures are in today’s rupees at the returns you enter — inflation will reduce their real purchasing power. EPF and PPF interest is largely tax-free; NPS has its own annuity and tax rules. This is a planning estimate, not advice.