FIRE calculator (India)
A FIRE number with Indian assumptions: a 3–3.5% starting withdrawal rate, medical and education inflation, and EPF / PPF / NPS rules. Figures are analytics from the numbers you enter, not a forecast.
You
Spending
Money you have
| Bucket | Value (₹) | Monthly (₹) | Return % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equity MF | |||
| Debt / FD | |||
| EPF | |||
| PPF | |||
| NPS | |||
| Other |
- Typical salaried fill is 15.67% of basic (12% employee + 3.67% employer EPF). EPS (8.33% of the employer share, wage cap ₹15,000) is left out of the EPF pot.
- Withdrawal before 5 years can make the employer share plus interest taxable, with 10% TDS at ₹50,000 or more (Income-tax Act 2025 s.392(7); erstwhile 192A). Interest after leaving a job is taxable. Interest on employee contributions above ₹2.5 lakh a year is taxable (Schedule II / Rule 277). Those taxes are disclosed here, not subtracted from the pot.
Goals
Assumptions
Questions
What is a FIRE number?
The modelled amount at a chosen FI age: core spending times a multiple, plus a health reserve and the present value of goals after FI. Goals before FI have their own SIP.
Why 30× and not 25× in India?
Indian studies put a starting withdrawal rate around 3–3.5% (about 28–33× annual spending), not the US 4% / 25× rule. This page defaults to 3.33% (30×) and always shows 3% and 4%.
What is Lean, Fat, and Coast FIRE?
Lean uses 0.7× core spending, Fat 1.5×. Coast asks whether today's assets, with no further contributions, still reach the Regular number by the FI age. The coast number today is the Regular number (FI-date rupees) discounted at the blended new-SIP return (default 11%), not each bucket's own rate.
How are health costs handled?
Health costs are a separate reserve that grows at medical inflation and is valued as an annuity from FI to the plan-until age. The drawdown stress test covers core spending only; published Indian SWR figures use one expense stream at one inflation rate.
How is NPS counted if FI is before 60?
The All Citizen Model allows the usual 80% lump at 60, or after 15 years of subscription, whichever is earlier. Below that, the pot grows to 60 and the PFRDA lump (100% if ≤ ₹8L, max(₹6L, 80%) if ≤ ₹12L, else 80%) is discounted back to FI at the post-FI return. A premature-withdrawal option (20% lump, 80% annuity) is available. Schedule II entry 6 (Income-tax Act 2025; erstwhile 10(12A)) treats 60% of the corpus as tax-free; the extra 20% lump is taxed at a 30% slab here. Annuity income is at slab as received and is not counted as FIRE income.
Are EPF and PPF counted?
EPF is counted in full at FI (withdrawal after two months without employment). EPS (8.33% of the employer share, wage cap ₹15,000) is not in the typical salaried fill. Withdrawal before 5 years can make the employer share plus interest taxable, with 10% TDS at ₹50,000 or more (s.392(7)); interest after leaving a job is taxable; interest on employee contributions above ₹2.5 lakh a year is taxable — disclosed, not subtracted. PPF is locked until maturity except for the para-10 partial: one withdrawal a year after 5 years from the end of the year of opening, up to 50% of the lower of the 4th-preceding-year and preceding-year balances (PPF Scheme 2019). FI is not a ground for premature closure. After 15 years the default is extension without deposits at 7.1% (Oct–Dec 2026, revised quarterly); continuing deposits is a Form-4 opt-in within 1 year, in 5-year blocks, still capped at ₹1.5 lakh.
What does the crash test use?
The same IIMA broad-market total-return series as the SWP calculator, mixed with a 7% debt sleeve at the post-FI equity share. Open the core pot in the SWP calculator to see Bad years first.
Is this advice?
No. These are analytics from the numbers you entered, not a forecast or a recommendation of any scheme.