Planning
The cost of waiting
The same goal at the same age, started at different ages. Small decisions compound.
Starting at 30
Illustration₹16,229
A month to build ₹5 Cr by 60, at an assumed 12% a year.
- Wait until 35
- ₹29,374
- ₹13,145 more a month
- You would invest in total
- ₹58,42,310
- Over 30 years
- Compounding does the rest
- ₹4,41,57,690
- Estimated growth
Monthly SIP needed for ₹5 Cr by 60
Starting at 30
About ₹16,229 a month could build ₹5 Cr by 60, at an assumed 12% a year.
Waiting 5 years
Starting at 35 instead needs ₹13,145 more every month — 1.8× the monthly amount.
25 vs 40
Starting at 40 needs 6× the monthly SIP of starting at 25, and ₹92.35 L more in total contributions.
Every start reaches the same target
Same SIP, started later
If you invested ₹9,073 a month — the amount the age-25 start needs — here is where each later start could end up.
- From 25₹5 Cr
- From 30₹2.8 Cr−44%
- From 35₹1.54 Cr−69%
- From 40₹83.46 L−83%
Keep this result
Save it, share a link (numbers only — no personal details), or talk it through with a person.
01Method
How this is calculated
The same formulas run on the server and in your browser, documented in plain language. Every assumption is shown beside the result and you can change it.
- Default assumptions reviewed
- 4 Oct 2026
- Formula version
- 1.0.0
The annual return you enter is treated as an effective yearly rate, so twelve monthly steps compound to exactly that rate. Some calculators divide the annual rate by 12 instead, which shows slightly higher values.
i = (1 + r)^(1/12) − 1
For each start age, the months available are 12 × (target age − start age). The monthly SIP is the target divided by the annuity factor for those months.
SIP = target ÷ [((1 + i)^n − 1) ÷ i × (1 + i)]
Each later start is compared with the earliest: the extra amount every month, the extra contributions in total, and the multiple of the earliest SIP.
The target is a future amount and is not adjusted for inflation here. Use the retirement or goal calculator to work out a target in today’s money first.
Default assumptions are hypothetical round numbers chosen for illustration. They are not forecasts and not a view on any product. Change them to see how sensitive the result is.
02Questions
Good to know
More about how our tools work: all tool questions.
03Keep exploring
Understand first. Invest second.
Terms to know
- CompoundingEarning returns on past returns as well as on the original amount, so growth accelerates the longer money stays invested.
- SIPA way to invest a fixed amount in a mutual fund at regular intervals, usually monthly, instead of investing everything at once.
- Step-up SIPAn SIP whose instalment rises at set intervals — usually yearly, by a fixed amount or percentage — so investing keeps pace with income.
- InflationThe rate at which prices rise over time, which steadily reduces what a fixed amount of money can buy.
Read next
Next step
Numbers are a start. A plan is better.
Take this result into a fuller plan, or talk it through with a CompoundX relationship manager — no obligation.