Guide

Why Inflation Makes Your SIP Worth Less Than You Think

The corpus a calculator shows you is in future rupees. What it buys is a different, smaller number.

SIP Calculator Hub · Reviewed June 2026

Nominal versus real

A nominal figure is the rupee amount you'll have. A real figure is what that amount can actually buy, expressed in today's prices. Inflation is the gap between them.

At 6% inflation, prices roughly double every 12 years. So a corpus 24 years away is worth about a quarter of its nominal value in today's purchasing power — a sobering adjustment most projections leave out.

Why this changes your target

If you plan in nominal terms, you'll systematically under-save. A goal that feels covered by a ₹1 crore nominal corpus may need far more to deliver ₹1 crore of today's lifestyle.

That's why our goal solver lets you set the target in today's money — it inflates the goal first, then solves for the SIP that funds the real future cost.

Planning against inflation

Two levers help: step-up SIPs (raising contributions over time) and a long horizon (so compounding outruns inflation). The real-value figure in our calculators is there precisely so you can check whether your plan actually beats inflation, not just nominal growth.