Rs 5 crore in 20 years: What should be the SIP amount?

The young folks at work aren’t exactly fond of me these days. Ever since I published that “Rs 4.4 crore is the new Rs 1 crore for Gen Zs” piece, I’ve been getting side-eyes, stiff nods and what I swear was an attempted shoulder barge by someone carrying an oat milk latte. (Okay fine, maybe I imagined the barge. But the latte was real.)

Clearly, bridges needed rebuilding. So, in a bid to win them back, I decided to be useful. I turned to the one place that never judges me for asking too many questions: Value Research’s own SIP calculator (yes, we do eat our own cooking).

And what I found is that if you are thinking of building a Rs 5 crore corpus 20 years from now, here’s your monthly SIP reality check:

Assumption 1: 10 per cent annual returns

Your SIP will need to be Rs 70,000/month. Yes, that’s a BMW EMI. But also, this is for becoming a crorepati five times over.

Assumption 2: 12 per cent annual returns (which should be the expectation)

SIP drops to Rs 55,000/month. A little better. Still ambitious, still possible.

Assumption 3: 15 per cent annual returns

Rs 38,000/month gets you there. But unless you own a crystal ball that forecasts bull runs, let’s not pin hopes on this one because that only sets you up for disappointment.

Assumption 4: 20 per cent annual returns

Rs 21,000 per month would. However, expecting 20 per cent returns over 20 years is wild, unless you are personally mentoring Warren Buffett.

The last word

What began as a PR exercise to win back the office crowd has ended up giving us something tangible: real SIP numbers. Cold, honest, emotionally detached numbers.

But here’s what the calculator doesn’t capture: the curveballs life throws at us. The surprise expenses, the unplanned sabbaticals, the impulse iPhone buys or the seventh cousin’s destination wedding in Spain. Which is why the math is just a starting point. The real game is about building a financial plan that can be a durable strategy in the long run.

Because even if you don’t know what 2045 will look like, your plan doesn’t have to be a straw in the wind.

And to my Gen Z colleagues—if you're still reading—don’t worry. I promise the next story will be about how avocado toast can be a wealth-building strategy. Maybe.

Also read: Planning to start Rs 25,000 SIP? Invest in these 3 funds

This article was originally published on June 26, 2025.