NPS Vatsalya Calculator — NPS for Minors
This NPS Vatsalya calculator projects the retirement corpus your child could build from an NPS Vatsalya account — a scheme launched in September 2024 that lets a parent or guardian invest in NPS on behalf of a minor. It models a parent contributing monthly from the child's current age all the way to 60, when the account (having converted to a standard NPS Tier 1 account at 18) matures under the usual NPS rules: up to 60% withdrawn tax-free, with the rest mandatorily annuitized into a pension. Enter the child's age, monthly contribution and expected return to see all three figures.
NPS Vatsalya accounts can be opened for any minor under 18, run by a parent or guardian on the child's behalf.
Minimum contribution is ₹1,000 a year to open and keep the account active (some sources cite figures as low as ~₹250 during the scheme's initial phase) — there's no upper limit.
NPS Vatsalya invests in the same market-linked equity/debt mix as regular NPS — this models one flat return across both the pre-18 accumulation phase and the post-18 NPS Tier 1 phase, for simplicity.
At 18, the account converts to a standard NPS Tier 1 account in your child's own name, subject to the same rules — including the mandatory annuity purchase — whenever they eventually retire at 60.
Total corpus at 60
Log in to save₹3,69,66,214
The maximum share of your child's corpus that could be withdrawn tax-free as a lump sum at 60.
From the mandatory 40% of the corpus used to buy an annuity — illustrative only, since real payout rates decades from now will vary by insurer.
How to use this nps vatsalya calculator
- 1Child's current age: how old the child is today — NPS Vatsalya accounts can be opened for any minor under 18.
- 2Monthly contribution: how much the parent or guardian invests each month; NPS Vatsalya requires a minimum of around ₹1,000 a year to keep the account active (some sources cite figures as low as ~₹250 during the scheme's initial phase), with no upper limit.
- 3Expected annual return: this calculator applies one flat return across both the pre-18 Vatsalya phase and the post-18 NPS Tier 1 phase for simplicity, though real returns will vary year to year with the market-linked equity/debt mix chosen.
- 4Expected annuity rate at 60: the rate at which the mandatory annuitized portion of the corpus pays out as a pension once your child eventually retires — this varies by insurer and product chosen at that time, decades from now.
Understanding your results
Total corpus at 60 is the projected NPS balance assuming contributions continue at the same monthly amount, uninterrupted, from the child's current age all the way to 60 — spanning the NPS Vatsalya phase until 18 and the standard NPS Tier 1 phase afterward. Tax-free lump sum withdrawable is the maximum 60% of that corpus your child could take out in cash at 60. Estimated monthly pension is what the mandatory 40% annuitized portion is projected to pay every month for life, based on your chosen annuity rate — treat both retirement-age figures as long-range illustrations, not guarantees, given the multi-decade horizon involved.
The formula
Corpus = SIP future value of monthly contributions from current age to 60; Lump sum = Corpus × 60%; Pension = (Corpus × 40% × Annuity rate) / 12The corpus is calculated as the future value of a monthly contribution compounding at the expected return, run continuously from the child's current age to 60 — this calculator doesn't model a contribution gap or rate change at the 18-year conversion point, since NPS Vatsalya converts seamlessly into a standard NPS Tier 1 account in the child's own name at that age. At 60, the same 60%-lump-sum / 40%-annuity split that applies to regular NPS applies here: the annuitized 40% is multiplied by the expected annuity rate and divided by 12 for a monthly pension estimate.
A worked example
A 5-year-old with a parent contributing ₹2,000/month, expecting a 9% annual return over the 55 years until the child turns 60, and a 6% annuity rate at retirement: the corpus works out to ₹3,69,66,214. Of that, ₹2,21,79,728 (60%) could be withdrawn tax-free as a lump sum, and ₹1,47,86,486 (40%) would be annuitized. At the 6% annuity rate, that pays an estimated monthly pension of ₹73,932 for life.
Things to know
NPS Vatsalya was launched in September 2024, with detailed PFRDA operational guidelines issued since — as a genuinely new scheme, the exact minimum contribution, fee structure and transition process at age 18 are still being refined, so treat the ₹1,000/year minimum used here as indicative and verify current PFRDA rules before opening an account. This calculator assumes uninterrupted monthly contributions at a flat rate for 55+ years, which is a long-range simplification: real returns will vary significantly year to year, and few people maintain an identical contribution amount across five and a half decades. As with regular NPS, actual annuity payout rates at 60 depend on the insurer and product available at that time. Always verify current rules against official PFRDA/NPS Trust NPS Vatsalya guidance.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to the NPS Vatsalya account when my child turns 18?+
It converts into a standard NPS Tier 1 account in your child's own name — they take over as the account holder and can continue contributing under the usual NPS rules, subject to the same 60%-lump-sum / 40%-annuity exit rule whenever they eventually retire at 60.
What's the minimum I need to contribute to NPS Vatsalya?+
Commonly cited minimums are around ₹1,000 a year to open and keep the account active, though some sources reference figures as low as ~₹250 during the scheme's initial phase. There's no maximum contribution limit. Check the current PFRDA guidelines before opening an account, since rules for this newly launched scheme are still being finalized.
Is this the same as opening a regular NPS account for myself?+
No — NPS Vatsalya is specifically for minors, opened and contributed to by a parent or guardian on the child's behalf, until it converts to a standard NPS Tier 1 account at 18. This calculator models the full journey from the child's current age to 60, spanning both phases with a single assumed return rate for simplicity.