Calculate NPS corpus and monthly pension at retirement
Built & maintained by Pappu Venkata Subbi Reddy, founder of Clacify · Updated July 2026 · Formulas verified against official Indian government sources
The NPS (National Pension System) Calculator helps Indian salaried and self-employed individuals estimate their retirement corpus and the monthly pension it will generate. Enter your current age, monthly contribution, expected annual return, and retirement age, and it projects the accumulated corpus at 60, the portion that must be used to buy an annuity, the lump sum you can withdraw, and an estimated monthly pension. NPS is attractive for its very low cost and an exclusive extra tax deduction of ₹50,000 under Section 80CCD(1B), over and above the ₹1.5 lakh 80C limit — a saving of up to ₹15,600 a year for someone in the 30% bracket.
The corpus is built using compound growth on monthly contributions: C × [((1+r)^n − 1) ÷ r] × (1+r), where C is the monthly contribution, r is the monthly return, and n is the months to retirement. PFRDA rules require at least 40% of the corpus at age 60 to be used to purchase an annuity; up to 60% can be withdrawn tax-free. The monthly pension estimate applies a prevailing annuity rate (roughly 6% per annum) to the annuitised portion. The 80CCD(1B) saving is illustrated at the 30% slab. Actual returns depend on your chosen pension fund manager and equity/debt allocation, so treat projections as planning estimates.
| Start age | Corpus at 60 | Lump sum (60%) | Monthly pension* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | ₹3,82,82,767 | ₹2,29,69,660 | ₹76,566 |
| 30 | ₹2,27,93,253 | ₹1,36,75,952 | ₹45,587 |
| 35 | ₹1,33,78,903 | ₹80,27,342 | ₹26,758 |
| 40 | ₹76,56,969 | ₹45,94,181 | ₹15,314 |
*Pension assumes the mandatory 40% of the corpus buys an annuity yielding about 6% a year. The head start from 25 to 30 nearly doubles the final corpus — NPS rewards early, uninterrupted contributions more than almost any other instrument.
NPS is the only instrument that gives you a tax deduction beyond the crowded ₹1.5 lakh 80C basket. Under Section 80CCD(1B) you can claim an additional ₹50,000 for your NPS Tier-I contribution — a direct saving of up to ₹15,600 a year in the 30% bracket. For anyone whose 80C is already used up by EPF, insurance, and home-loan principal, this is effectively free extra tax relief just for retirement saving.
At age 60 you can withdraw up to 60% of the corpus as a tax-free lump sum. The remaining 40% must be used to buy an annuity from an insurer, which pays you a monthly pension for life — and that pension is taxable as income. This annuity requirement is NPS's main trade-off versus PPF or mutual funds: part of your money is locked into a lifelong pension rather than staying fully liquid.
NPS lets you pick how your money is split across equity (E), corporate bonds (C), and government securities (G). "Active Choice" lets you set the mix yourself (equity capped at 75% until age 50, then tapering down); "Auto Choice" reduces equity automatically as you age. A younger investor comfortable with volatility can lean equity-heavy for higher long-run growth; someone near retirement should tilt toward bonds to protect the corpus.
EPF and PPF give fixed, guaranteed, tax-free returns (currently ~8.25% and 7.1%); NPS is market-linked, lower-cost, and can return more over a long horizon but with no guarantee and a compulsory annuity. Many Indians use all three: EPF automatically through salary, PPF for a guaranteed tax-free core, and NPS for the extra ₹50,000 deduction plus equity growth. They complement rather than replace each other.
NPS does not guarantee a fixed pension — it depends on the corpus accumulated and annuity rates at retirement. At retirement, 40% of corpus must go into an annuity plan. Current annuity rates from LIC and other approved insurers give roughly 5–6% annual return. Example: ₹1 crore corpus → ₹40 lakh annuity → ₹16,000–20,000/month pension.
NPS offers three tax deductions: (1) Section 80CCD(1): Contribution up to 10% of salary (15% for self-employed), included within the ₹1.5 lakh 80C limit. (2) Section 80CCD(1B): Additional deduction of up to ₹50,000 over and above the 80C limit — exclusive to NPS. (3) Section 80CCD(2): Employer contribution up to 10% of basic+DA is tax-free. Total possible deduction: ₹2 lakh+.