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Best Pension Plan in India Calculator

Compare NPS, EPF+EPS, PPF, SCSS, Atal Pension Yojana and annuity plans side by side using real 2026 rates — or work out exactly how much to invest today for the monthly pension you want tomorrow.

How Pension Planning Actually Works in India

Retirement in India rarely comes from one single scheme. Most people end up combining an employer-linked scheme (EPF+EPS if salaried), a voluntary market-linked scheme (NPS), a safe government-backed instrument (PPF or SCSS), and sometimes a guaranteed minimum pension (Atal Pension Yojana) or an insurance annuity. This calculator is built to let you see all of these side by side using your own numbers, rather than reading generic advice that doesn't apply to your income or age.

Before comparing, it helps to know what each scheme actually is and who regulates it, because that regulation decides how safe your money is, how it is taxed, and what happens if the provider runs into trouble.

National Pension System (NPS)

NPS is a voluntary, market-linked retirement scheme regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). Anyone aged 18 to 70 can open a Tier I (retirement, locked-in) account with as little as ₹500, and continue contributing until age 75. You choose how your money is invested — up to 75% in equity, the rest in corporate bonds and government securities — either yourself (Active Choice) or through an age-based Life Cycle Fund (Auto Choice) that automatically reduces equity exposure as you approach retirement. Recent NPS scheme returns have ranged roughly 7.6%–13.2% depending on the fund and asset mix chosen, with long-term (10+ year) equity-heavy schemes historically averaging closer to 11–13% and conservative debt-heavy schemes closer to 7–9%.

NPS carries its own dedicated tax benefit: beyond the regular ₹1.5 lakh Section 80CCD(1)/80C limit, you can claim an additional ₹50,000 deduction under Section 80CCD(1B) — a benefit no other scheme on this page offers on its own. Employer contributions (up to 10% of salary for private employees, 14% for government employees and under NPS Vatsalya) are separately deductible under Section 80CCD(2), with no monetary cap under the new tax regime.

At retirement (age 60), NPS rules require you to use at least 40% of your corpus to buy an annuity from a PFRDA-empanelled Annuity Service Provider (LIC, SBI Life, HDFC Life and others), which then pays you a monthly pension for life. The remaining up to 60% can be withdrawn as a tax-free lump sum. If your total corpus is ₹5 lakh or less, the entire amount can be withdrawn without buying any annuity.

EPF and EPS (For Salaried Employees)

If you are a salaried employee earning above the wage threshold, your employer is already contributing to two connected schemes administered by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) under the Ministry of Labour & Employment:

The EPF corpus currently earns 8.25% per annum (the rate declared for recent years and retained since), compounded annually and credited to your account — this builds the lump sum you typically withdraw at retirement or resignation (tax-free after 5 years of continuous service). EPS, on the other hand, is a defined-benefit pension calculated using the formula:

Following the Supreme Court's November 2022 judgment, some employees who contributed on their actual (uncapped) salary throughout their career can opt for a "higher pension" based on actual salary rather than the ₹15,000 cap, subject to EPFO's implementation conditions and an additional contribution from past dues. This calculator uses the standard ₹15,000-cap formula, which still applies to the vast majority of EPF members.

PPF for Retirement Savings

The Public Provident Fund (PPF) is a 15-year (extendable in 5-year blocks) government savings scheme currently paying 7.1% per annum for the July–September 2026 quarter — unchanged for nine straight quarters since April 2020. It is fully tax-free at every stage (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt: contribution, interest and maturity all tax-free), with a yearly contribution cap of ₹1.5 lakh. PPF itself does not pay out a monthly pension; it simply builds a safe, compounding lump sum. Most people convert this into a retirement income themselves — for example by keeping it invested and withdrawing a fixed amount periodically, similar to a Systematic Withdrawal Plan. If you want to model that conversion precisely, our dedicated PPF Calculator and SWP Calculator with Inflation handle the exact month-by-month maths.

Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS)

SCSS is designed specifically for the post-retirement phase, not the accumulation phase. It is open to individuals aged 60+ (retired civilian employees aged 55–60 and retired defence personnel aged 50+ also qualify under conditions), pays 8.2% per annum for the July–September 2026 quarter — one of the highest guaranteed rates among small savings schemes — and is paid out quarterly rather than compounded. The maximum deposit is ₹30 lakh per individual (₹60 lakh for a joint account of spouses), with a 5-year tenure extendable once by 3 more years. On the maximum ₹30 lakh deposit, that works out to a guaranteed ₹20,500 every month before tax. Interest is fully taxable, with TDS applicable if annual interest exceeds ₹1 lakh for those 60+.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY): Guaranteed Minimum Pension

APY, regulated by PFRDA, guarantees a fixed monthly pension of ₹1,000, ₹2,000, ₹3,000, ₹4,000 or ₹5,000 from age 60, regardless of market performance, funded by a small monthly contribution that depends entirely on your entry age. It is aimed at unorganised-sector and low-income workers, open to those aged 18–40, and — importantly — not available to income-tax payers since 1 October 2022. Government co-contribution (which used to add 50% of the contribution, up to ₹1,000/year) was only available to accounts opened before 31 December 2015 and has since ended for new subscribers. If the subscriber dies before 60, the spouse can continue the account or receive the accumulated corpus.

Annuity Plans (Insurance-Based Pension)

An annuity plan, sold by life insurers and regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), converts a one-time lump sum into a guaranteed monthly (or annual) income for life. Payout rates for a 60-year-old typically range around 6%–7% of the purchase price per year depending on the plan type: a single-life annuity without return of purchase price pays the highest rate (~7%), a plan with return of purchase price to your nominee pays somewhat less (~6.2%–6.5%), and a joint-life annuity covering a spouse pays the lowest (~6%) since it covers two lives. NPS annuity purchases work exactly this way — the 40%+ portion of your NPS corpus you must annuitise gets converted into monthly income at these same market-linked annuity rates.

Who Regulates What: Clearing Up a Common Confusion

A lot of pension content online lazily lumps every scheme under "RBI" or "SEBI." Neither is accurate for most pension products in India:

RBI's role is limited to being the banker to the government and regulating the banks that accept these deposits — it does not set pension scheme rates or rules directly.

Tax Treatment Compared

Tax rules change frequently — always verify current provisions on the Income Tax Department's website or with a qualified tax advisor before making decisions based on tax treatment alone.

Common Mistakes in Retirement Planning

Three mistakes come up repeatedly. First, starting late and expecting a market-linked scheme like NPS equity to "catch up" — compounding needs time far more than it needs a high contribution amount, which is why our reverse calculator above shows just how much cheaper it is to start in your 20s versus your late 30s for the same target pension. Second, ignoring inflation — a ₹30,000 monthly pension sounds comfortable today but will buy noticeably less in 25–30 years; always think in terms of purchasing power, not just the number. Third, putting 100% of retirement savings into a single scheme — most experienced planners suggest spreading across a market-linked option (NPS/mutual funds), a safe fixed-return option (PPF/EPF), and a small guaranteed-pension layer (EPS/APY), rather than betting everything on one instrument's outcome.

Frequently Asked Questions

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About Invest Know

Invest Know builds free, regulator-aligned financial calculators for India using real, cited data — never static guesses. Rates on this page reflect PFRDA, EPFO and Ministry of Finance figures as of September 2026 and are for illustration only, not investment or tax advice. Read more on our About Us page.