Lesson 48 of 53 · Retirement income in buckets · 3 min read · Reviewed 29 Oct 2026
Splitting the corpus by when you will spend it: two to three years of expenses in liquid funds or FDs, the next five or so in debt and hybrid funds, and the rest in equity for later years. You draw from the first bucket and refill it from the others, so a market fall doesn’t force you to sell equity at a low.
Bucket one holds two to three years of spending in cash, FDs or liquid funds.
Bucket two holds the next five or so years in debt and hybrid funds.
Bucket three is equity for spending ten or more years away. You refill the first bucket from the others, preferring the one that has done well.
Key idea: The calculator shows how long a corpus lasts at a given monthly withdrawal.
Try the calculator and the one-question quiz on this page to check your own numbers.
Each withdrawal is a sale; only the gain in the units sold is taxed.
Once a year is a common rhythm.
Not by itself. It sets when you sell, so a fall doesn’t force a sale.
For learning only, not investment advice. Built in India by a team that tracks its own money on Reva.