The accumulation years
Here the job is straightforward: contribute consistently, keep costs low, stay invested through the cycles, and step the contribution up as income rises. Time does most of the work. The corpus you need is a function of your expected post-retirement expenses, inflated to your retirement date, and how long the money has to last.
The withdrawal years
After retirement, a bad market in the first few years is far more damaging than the same market ten years later, because you are selling units to fund withdrawals while prices are down. This is sequence-of-returns risk, and no average-return calculation shows it. The defence is structural: keep several years of withdrawals in low-volatility assets so you are never forced to sell equity at the bottom.
How an SWP works
A Systematic Withdrawal Plan redeems a fixed amount from your folio each month while the remaining balance stays invested. Unlike an annuity it is flexible and the corpus remains yours, but unlike an annuity it is not guaranteed to last — if withdrawals outpace growth, it depletes. We size a sustainable withdrawal rate and review it annually.
Risk note — SWP withdrawals reduce your invested units. If withdrawals exceed portfolio growth, the corpus depletes and may be exhausted. Redemptions may attract capital gains tax and, in some cases, exit load. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks; read all scheme related documents carefully before investing.
Questions
Asked about this service
Is an SWP better than an annuity?
Neither is universally better. An annuity guarantees income for life but the capital is gone and the rate is fixed. An SWP keeps your capital, stays flexible and can be left to your family — but it carries market risk and can run out. Many retirees use both.
What is a safe monthly withdrawal rate?
There is no single safe number, and anyone who gives you one without knowing your age, corpus and asset mix is guessing. What we can do is model your specific case and show you how long the corpus lasts under different assumptions.
Also from us
Other services
Begin the conversation
Start your investment journey
Tell us the goal — a home, your child's education, a calm retirement — and we'll walk you through the options, the risks and the paperwork.