NPS calculator
What monthly pension will NPS pay me, and how much can I take as cash at 60?
Tier-I cannot be exited in full before 60 without losing the 60% tax-free lump sum.
Depends on your E/C/G mix — an equity-heavy Tier-I has done more, a G-heavy one less.
At least 40% must buy one. More annuity means a bigger pension and a smaller lump sum.
What the insurer quotes when you buy. It is fixed for life on the day you buy it.
₹22,793a month, from age 60
- Corpus at 60
- ₹1,13,96,627
- Cash you can take
- ₹68,37,976
- Goes into the annuity
- ₹45,58,651
- Extra 80CCD(1B) deduction
- ₹50,000
FY 2024-25 deduction limits. The pension is the annuity times its rate — a perpetuity that never touches the capital, so a real annuity quote that returns capital pays more, and one that does not pays this. Starts from zero: an NPS balance you already hold is not counted.
- Contributed
- Growth
| Age | Contributed | Growth | Corpus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | ₹60,000 | ₹3,351 | ₹63,351 |
| 32 | ₹1,20,000 | ₹13,337 | ₹1,33,337 |
| 33 | ₹1,80,000 | ₹30,650 | ₹2,10,650 |
| 34 | ₹2,40,000 | ₹56,059 | ₹2,96,059 |
| 35 | ₹3,00,000 | ₹90,412 | ₹3,90,412 |
| 36 | ₹3,60,000 | ₹1,34,645 | ₹4,94,645 |
| 37 | ₹4,20,000 | ₹1,89,792 | ₹6,09,792 |
| 38 | ₹4,80,000 | ₹2,56,996 | ₹7,36,996 |
| 39 | ₹5,40,000 | ₹3,37,521 | ₹8,77,521 |
| 40 | ₹6,00,000 | ₹4,32,760 | ₹10,32,760 |
| 41 | ₹6,60,000 | ₹5,44,255 | ₹12,04,255 |
| 42 | ₹7,20,000 | ₹6,73,708 | ₹13,93,708 |
| 43 | ₹7,80,000 | ₹8,22,998 | ₹16,02,998 |
| 44 | ₹8,40,000 | ₹9,94,205 | ₹18,34,205 |
| 45 | ₹9,00,000 | ₹11,89,621 | ₹20,89,621 |
| 46 | ₹9,60,000 | ₹14,11,783 | ₹23,71,783 |
| 47 | ₹10,20,000 | ₹16,63,492 | ₹26,83,492 |
| 48 | ₹10,80,000 | ₹19,47,840 | ₹30,27,840 |
| 49 | ₹11,40,000 | ₹22,68,245 | ₹34,08,245 |
| 50 | ₹12,00,000 | ₹26,28,485 | ₹38,28,485 |
| 51 | ₹12,60,000 | ₹30,32,728 | ₹42,92,728 |
| 52 | ₹13,20,000 | ₹34,85,584 | ₹48,05,584 |
| 53 | ₹13,80,000 | ₹39,92,143 | ₹53,72,143 |
| 54 | ₹14,40,000 | ₹45,58,028 | ₹59,98,028 |
| 55 | ₹15,00,000 | ₹51,89,452 | ₹66,89,452 |
| 56 | ₹15,60,000 | ₹58,93,276 | ₹74,53,276 |
| 57 | ₹16,20,000 | ₹66,77,083 | ₹82,97,083 |
| 58 | ₹16,80,000 | ₹75,49,247 | ₹92,29,247 |
| 59 | ₹17,40,000 | ₹85,19,022 | ₹1,02,59,022 |
| 60 | ₹18,00,000 | ₹95,96,627 | ₹1,13,96,627 |
NPS is two answers, not one. At 60 the balance splits: at least 40% has to buy an annuity from an insurer, and that annuity is what pays you a monthly pension for life; the rest comes to you as cash. So "how much will NPS give me" is really two numbers — the pension a month, and the lump sum on the day. Put in what you pay a month, your age now, the return you expect from your E/C/G mix and the annuity rate an insurer is quoting, and this shows both, plus the corpus behind them year by year.
A worked example
A 32-year-old paying ₹6,000 a month into Tier-I until 60, assuming 10% from the E/C/G mix, annuitising the minimum 40% at an annuity rate of 6%. Set those six fields above and the page returns:
- ₹22,150 a month, from age 60
- ₹1,10,75,097 corpus at 60, after 28 years of contributions
- ₹66,45,058 cash you can take
- ₹44,30,039 into the annuity — that is what buys the pension
- ₹50,000 extra deduction under 80CCD(1B), the annual cap
Of that ₹1.1 crore, you paid in ₹20,16,000. Everything else is compounding.
- ₹20,16,000 What you contributed — 336 instalments of ₹6,000
- ₹90,59,097 Growth
The corpus at 60 is ₹1,10,75,097. You paid 18% of it.
The growth arrives late, which is why the exit age matters more than it feels like it should. At 40 the corpus is ₹8,84,396 and only ₹3,08,396 of that is growth. At 50 it is ₹36,33,407, growth ₹23,37,407 — already past the halfway mark. The last ten years add more than the first eighteen.
The 40% you cannot keep
The one decision that is unique to NPS is how much of the corpus goes to the insurer. It is the same money either way, and the trade is exact: every rupee annuitised buys pension and costs you cash.
Monthly pension at a 6% annuity rate. Move the annuity slider above to see it.
The annuity rate is the other half of that, and it is not yours to choose — it is what an insurer quotes on the day you buy. At the same 40% share, a 5% quote pays ₹18,458 a month and a 7% quote ₹25,842. You will not know which you are getting until you are 60.
What this number does not include
The pension is before tax
Annuity income is taxable as income at your slab in every year you receive it. Only the lump sum is exempt, and only up to 60% of the corpus under section 10(12A). The headline is gross.
Inflation is not in it
₹22,150 is in the rupees of the year you turn 60, not today's. A standard annuity pays that same figure for life, so its purchasing power falls every year after it starts, unless you buy an increasing-annuity option and accept a lower opening quote.
It is interest on the capital
The pension here is the annuity amount times the annuity rate, spread over twelve — the shape of an annuity that returns the purchase price to your nominee. A life annuity without return of purchase price consumes the capital instead, and quotes a higher monthly figure; joint-life and ROP options quote lower. Get a real quote before you plan on this.
Charges come out of the NAV
PFRDA caps the investment management fee at a fraction of a percent, well below a mutual fund, but the CRA account-maintenance charge and your POP's transaction charges are recovered in units. The return you type here is gross of all of it.
Three more that are properties of this calculator rather than of NPS. It starts from zero — a Tier-I balance you already hold is not counted, so an existing subscriber should read the corpus as “what the next 28 years add”, not as the total. The contribution never rises: in reality most people’s does, and a contribution that grows with salary ends up well above this. And it is Tier-I only — Tier-II is a voluntary account with no lock-in, no annuity requirement and no 80CCD(1B) benefit, and none of the exit rules above apply to it.
The deduction figure follows the limits named in the note under the tool. It is the deduction, not the refund: what it is worth to you is that amount times your marginal rate, and under the new regime it is worth nothing.
Where to go next
The pension here is a supply figure; the question it does not answer is how much you need. The retirement calculator starts from the expense you want to cover and works backwards, which is the honest way round. For the rest of the retirement pot, the EPF calculator covers the corpus your salary is already building at the rate EPFO declares each year, and the PPF calculator covers the voluntary account with a rate the government notifies quarterly — the two together decide whether NPS is your third pillar or your first.
How much pension will I get from NPS if I invest ₹5,000 a month?
It depends almost entirely on how many years you have left, because NPS is compounding first and pension second. At ₹5,000 a month with a 10% return and 40% annuitised at a 6% annuity rate, starting at 30 builds a ₹1,13,96,627 corpus and pays about ₹22,793 a month at 60 — that is the default this page opens with. The same ₹5,000 started at 25 pays about ₹38,283, and started at 40 about ₹7,657. You paid in ₹21 lakh in the first case and ₹12 lakh in the last — 1.75 times the money for five times the pension. Type your own age in and the headline moves more than any other slider.
Can I take the whole NPS corpus at 60 instead of buying an annuity?
Not in the normal case. PFRDA's exit regulations require at least 40% of the Tier-I corpus to be used to buy an annuity, and up to 60% may be taken as a lump sum, which is the exemption written into section 10(12A) of the Income-tax Act. A small corpus is the exception — the exit regulations allow full withdrawal without an annuity below a threshold (₹5 lakh at superannuation, ₹2.5 lakh on premature exit at the time of writing); check the current limit on your CRA's exit page before you count on it.
Is the NPS pension taxable?
Yes. The lump sum is exempt up to 60% of the corpus under section 10(12A), and the amount used to buy the annuity is not taxed at the point of purchase — but the pension the annuity then pays you is taxable as income in every year you receive it, at your slab. The monthly figure on this page is before that tax. So a retirement plan built on the headline alone is planning on a gross number.
Does the ₹50,000 NPS deduction still exist under the new tax regime?
The deductions you claim yourself do not. Section 80CCD(1) inside the ₹1.5 lakh 80C ceiling and the extra ₹50,000 under 80CCD(1B) are old-regime deductions — the figure this page shows is that deduction, not tax saved, and it is worth nothing if you file under the new regime. What survives is your employer's contribution under section 80CCD(2), which is deductible under both regimes up to a percentage of salary set by the section: 14% under the new regime after the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, and 10% for a private employer under the old one.
What return should I assume for NPS?
Not a number you invent. NPS returns are market-linked and NAV-based, and depend on your scheme preference: Active Choice caps equity (Scheme E) at 75%, Auto Choice tapers equity down as you age, and a corporate-bond-and-gilt-heavy account behaves like a bond fund, not like equity. The scheme-wise returns your pension fund has actually delivered are published by the CRAs and PFRDA — start from your own account's scheme, not from a round 12%.
Should I put more than 40% into the annuity?
Only if you want income certainty more than you want capital. At the worked example above, 40% annuitised pays ₹22,150 a month and leaves ₹66,45,058 in cash; 100% annuitised pays ₹55,375 and leaves nothing. The annuity rate is fixed for life on the day you buy it, so a high share locks a large part of a lifetime's saving into one insurer's quote at one moment. Most people split the difference and keep the cash for the things an annuity cannot pay for.
This page starts from typical figures. In Hundo the same calculator opens on your own — the loan, the deposit, the salary already on the ledger — and says where each number came from.