How to use PPF to save Rs 1 Crore: Be PPF Crorepati

Rs 1 crore is still not a small amount. But whether it is sufficient or not depends on why you actually need it.

So for example, if you were to ask me whether Rs 1 crore is enough for retirement? In most cases, the answer would be a No. Retirement planning is a nasty problem and you can’t just ahead with random numbers for your retirement corpus.

But still, there is a psychological attraction to this figure of Rs 1 crore and becoming a crorepati that we Indians can relate to.

PPF is a beautiful debt product. I have already written about it earlier too (link).

And even though investing in equity is a necessity and highly advisable for the long term, a product like the PPF can still be a part of the overall portfolio. And I am sure the term PPF crorepati in the title would have already captured your interest by now. 🙂

However, PPF is not a short term investment option as it has a lock-in period of 15 years. But still, you can make partial withdrawal after few years. And You can even extend the maturity by a block of 5 years multiple times. It currently falls under the EEE taxation category, which means that PPF contribution, interest earned on PPF and PPF maturity proceeds are exempted from tax.

Interestingly, a few days back I got a mail from a self-confessed conservative investor.

He said that he was slowly increasing his equity investments. But still, he felt that he cannot part ways with something as sure-shot and as risk-free as a PPF account. And he wanted to know how long would it take to accumulate Rs 1 crore in PPF?

I felt that this question might interest others as well.

So this post is about finding out:

How to accumulate Rs 1 Crore in PPF (Public Provident Fund)?

And if you are a low-risk conservative investor who wishes to accumulate Rs 1 Crore, then PPF is a decent option.

Let me try to answer this from various perspectives:

• If you contribute Rs 1.5 lac every year for a period of 15 years, your PPF balance will be about Rs 43.9 lac at the end of 15 years (assuming a stable interest rate of 8.0% per annum though now they have reduced further to 7.1%).
• If you contribute Rs 1.5 lac every year for a period of 15 years and then don’t liquidate your holding for another 15 years, then your PPF balance will be about Rs 1.39 crore at the end of 30 years (assuming a stable interest rate of 8.0% per annum). You will achieve the target of Rs 1 crore around the 27th year.
• If you contribute Rs 1.5 lac every year for a period of 15+5+5+5=30 years, then your PPF balance will be about Rs 1.83 crore at the end of 30 years (assuming a stable PPF interest rate of 8.0% per annum). And you will reach Rs 1 crore during the 24th year itself.

But what if you are unable to invest Rs 1.5 lac every year (the full PPF annual limit), then obviously your target of reaching Rs 1 crore in PPF will be delayed accordingly.

Also, if the interest rates go down in years to come, then once again your target of reaching Rs 1 crore in PPF will be delayed to that extent.

So to sum it up, you can become a crorepati if you put Rs 1.5 lac every year in PPF then you can accumulate a corpus of Rs 1.08 crore by the end of the 24th year (assuming that 8% return)

But as you know, neither the PPF limit remains the same nor PPF interest rates remain unchanged over the long term.

So let’s try a hypothetical scenario that might actually play out in the near future:

Suppose you begin saving the full Rs 1.5 lac in PPF today. Government increases the annual PPF investment limit by Rs 50,000 every 5 years. It is assumed you will continue to invest as much as is needed to fully utilize the annual investment limit of PPF every year. The interest rates also reduce by an average of 0.5% every 3 years or so.

What will be the result then?

At the end of the 15th year, your total investment of Rs 30 lac would have become about Rs 49.4 lac.

If you continue investing (after extending your PPF account with contribution) for another 5+5+5=15 years, then at the end of the 30th year, your total investment of Rs 82.5 lac would have become about Rs 2.02 crore.

Here is the tabular depiction of the excel:

As you might have observed, it is only after the initial few years that the actual compounding of the PPF investments becomes visible. And it is for this very reason that you should try not to disturb (withdraw from) your PPF account for as long as possible and try to extend its tenure after the first 15 years lock-in period.

Do you want to try some different scenarios of your own?

You can do so.

You can download this FREE Excel PPF Calculator and play around with inputs. If the previous link doesn’t work, use the link below:

Excel PPF Calculator (2021-22) Free Download

 

You can even check out the historical PPF interest rate and how things have changed in the past when it comes to PPF.

Now, the current limit for PPF is Rs 1.5 lakh per year.

But what if you want to invest more?

Obviously, you need to respect the limit.

But if both husband and wife can contribute to PPF, then things can get fastened a bit.

Save Rs 1 crore Quickly using Husband PPF + Wife PPF

What needs to be done is that a PPF account needs to be opened for both you and your spouse.

Since both the husband and the wife can deposit Rs 1.5 lakh per annum, it means you can contribute Rs 3 lakh every year in PPF. And you will get interest in both these PPF accounts for the entire period of 15 years or more if extended.

So how much do you end up with if both you and your spouse contribute Rs 1.5 lakh every year for 15 years?

The answer is Rs 43.9 lakh each, i.e. a total of Rs 87.8 lakh.

So if both of you save diligently, you can achieve Rs 1 Crore in about 17 years. Here is a sample depiction of PPF Husband Wife calculation:

So if you are a conservative investor, who isn’t much interested in volatile investment options, then PPF can be helpful. PPF can help you become a crorepati in a safe way.

• If you put Rs 1.5 lakh every year in PPF, then you can accumulate a corpus of Rs 1 crore by the end of the 24th year.
• If both you and your spouse put Rs 1.5 lakh each every year in individual PPFs, then you both accumulate a corpus of Rs 1 crore by the 17th year itself.

And if somehow you manage to continue investing for the 30 years (i.e. 15 years original and 3 extensions of 5 years each), then you will be able to accumulate a really big corpus.

So before I close, let me list down some facts about the PPF for your ready reference:

• PPF Interest Rate – 8% (check PPF interest rate history)
• PPF Duration – 15 years
• Extension of PPF Account – After the maturity period of the original 15 years, it can be extended in blocks of 5 years each multiple times
• Minimum deposit amount (per year):  Rs 500
• Maximum deposit amount (per year) :  Rs 1,50,000
• Number of contributions every year: 1 (min) to any number of contributions (earlier before 2020, only 12 contributions per year max were allowed)
• The number of accounts an individual can open: Only 1. If there is a 2nd PPF account, it is treated as invalid and doesn’t earn any interest.
• Tax Savings – EEE status, i.e. the annual contribution (up to Rs 1.5 lakh) provides tax benefit under Section 80C. Interest earned and the maturity amount is fully exempted from taxes.
• Interest on PPF is calculated on the minimum balance in the account between the 5th and the last day of each month. So if you invest monthly, then it makes sense to do it before the 5th of every month. Do read invest before 5th Vs after 5th of month in PPF. Or if you need to invest Rs 1.5 lakh in PPF in lumpsum, then invest Rs 1.5 lakh in PPF before 5th April every year to maximize your benefits.
• You can further maximize your returns in PPF by investing the full amount at the beginning of the financial year itself. Of course, this is not easy for everyone. But if you do so, the full amount earns interest every month of the year.

Here is the link to download the free excel-based PPF Calculator again:

Excel PPF Calculator (2021) Free Download

 

Use the above excel with your own inputs and you can use it as a PPF crorepati calculator.

And before you accuse me of being too gung-ho about PPF, I repeat that equity is the best asset to create long-term wealth. You can become a crorepati by investing in mutual funds too. Here is How much to invest every month in mutual funds to get Rs 1 crore in 20 years.

Also, read how Rs 1 lakh invested every year for 20 years can create a Rs 90+ lakh portfolio without any problem

But let me tell you something.

Investing in equity does come with its own share of ups and downs in the near term. But if you look at the average annual returns of Indian Stock Market, then it will show how you can create some serious wealth from equity. The idea of this post was to tell how a comparatively safe and risk-free savings option like PPF can be used to accumulate a large corpus of PPF Rs 1 crore.

Related Reading: How to build a Retirement Corpus of Rs 5 crore?

For most people, it’s advisable to have a balance between equity and debt when investing for long. But if you aren’t sure whether you are saving and investing properly, do get in touch with an investment advisor soon (how?).