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​What is Systematic Withdrawal Plan in Mutual Fund?​

Where SIP allows you to invest regularly a fixed sum in a mutual fund scheme; SWP, on the other hand, helps you to withdraw from your investments. In other words, SWP is the opposite of SIP, the only similarity being that both are done in small chunks of money (depending on Fund Houses) and at periodic intervals like monthly, quarterly etc.

What is SWP?

SWP is a facility provided by mutual fund houses under which you can periodically withdraw a specified amount from your existing portfolio to meet your expenses.It can be availed as per your need of regular cash inflow by filling up the relevant form that specifies your folio number, date of first withdrawal, frequency of withdrawal and amount with bank details.

SWP can be of two types-

  1. Fixed amount SWP- Here, you fix the amount to be withdrawn on the date specified
  2. Appreciation SWP- Here, you withdraw only the appreciation or gain from the scheme, i.e. the returns you have earned and not the principal amount.

What are the scenarios where you may need SWP?

Income after retirement: One of the common uses of SWP, is when you access your retirement fund to generate regular income for yourself.

Complementing/in place of current income source- Consider a scenario wherein you have quit your regular source of income, and are, perhaps, trying to establish yourself as an entrepreneur, or due to layoffs, you lose your job. In both cases, you will need regular income to sustain the lifestyle for yourself and your family.

Achieve your financial goals- An SWP can help you achieve your financial goals. For example, if your goal is to generate a fixed monthly income, an SWP can help to achieve that for you.

Family emergency- Life is unpredictable, and no matter how tightly you plan your finances, there may always be room for surprises you did not plan for. If such a situation warrants additional money, SWP can be a comfortable option.

Similarly, there can be many scenarios that are subjective, and that may require you initiating an SWP.

Deep Diving into SWP

With the help of an example, let us understand the mechanism of SWP.

Let us assume you have Rs. 1,00,00,000 in a debt schemeas on today with an NAV of Rs. 10, i.e. 10,00,000 units. Assuming returns per annum of 6%, monthly returns will be 0.5%. Let us assume you want to initiate a monthly SWP of Rs. 10,000 from next month onwards, here is the mathematics behind the withdrawal-

NAVSWP value (Rs)No of units redeemedNo of units remainingInvestment Value at end of the periode(Rs)
10.0000--10,00,0001,00,00,000
10.050010,000995.02499,99,004.97511,00,40,000
10.00010,000990.07459,98,014.90061,00,80,200
10.00010,000985.14889,98,017.75191,01,20,601

With a 0.5% return, at the time of the first SWP instalment, your NAV grew from Rs. 10 to Rs. 10.05. This implies that if you want to withdraw Rs. 10,000, you shall have to redeem (10,000/10.05)=995.0249 units of the scheme. After this redemption, you are left with 999,004.9751 units and so on for every SWP redemption.

The choice of the SWP value may depend on your total portfolio value and your monthly/quarterly cash inflow requirement. The above example is just an assumption for the sake of calculation and is not a recommended SWP value.

What’s in it for a mutual fund investor?

Regular Cash Inflow
Tax-related Benefits

Taking the same example forward, did you wonder if you will get the whole of Rs. 10,000 each time you redeem the units? The good news here is that there is no TDS implication for the SWP amount for a resident investor.

Also, depending on the tenure of holding of the scheme, Short-Term Capital gains Tax (STCG Tax) or Long-Term Capital gains Tax (LTCGTax ) shall be applicable.

Furthering the example we discussed above, let us assume that the period of holding of the investment in the said debt fund is less than36 months. In which case, STCG Tax of 30% (excl. surcharge and cess) will be applicable on the capital gain (Assuming investor is in the highest income tax rate slab). Using the same numbers, the STCG Tax on the first 3 SWP instalment shall be-

MonthNAVUnitsValueSWPUnits redemptionUnits remaining Market ValueSTCG STCG Tax
-10.00100000010000000100000010000000
110.0510000001005000010000995.02999004.981004000049.7514.93
210.10999004.981009025010000990.07998014.911008025099.3029.79
310.15998014.911013065010000985.14997029.7610120650148.5644.57

And so on. So, you are paying STCG Tax only on realized capital gain and not on the whole withdrawal amount.

In conclusion-

SWP can be the comfortable fallback option for you when you need that additional regular inflow of money to either help you live a peaceful retirement life, to complement your existing income or in any other subjective situation you may be in. It is advisable to speak to your financial advisor before making any SWP decision.


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Disclaimer:
This is an investor education and awareness initiative by Nippon India Mutual Fund.
Helpful information for investors: All Mutual Fund investors have to go through a one-time KYC (know your Customer) process. Investors should deal only with registered mutual funds, to be verified on SEBI website under 'Intermediaries/ Market Infrastructure Institutions'. For redressal of your complaints, you may please visit www.scores.gov.in . For more info on KYC, change in various details & redressal of complaints, visit mf.nipponindiaim.com/investoreducation/what-to-know-when-investing This is an investor education and awareness initiative by Nippon India Mutual Fund.

The information herein is meant only for general reading purposes and the views being expressed only constitute opinions and therefore cannot be considered as guidelines, recommendations or as a professional guide for the readers. The document has been prepared on the basis of publicly available information, internally developed data and other sources believed to be reliable. The sponsor, the Investment Manager, the Trustee or any of their directors, employees, associates or representatives (“entities & their associates”) do not assume any responsibility for, or warrant the accuracy, completeness, adequacy and reliability of such information. Recipients of this information are advised to rely on their own analysis, interpretations & investigations. Readers are also advised to seek independent professional advice in order to arrive at an informed investment decision. Entities & their associates including persons involved in the preparation or issuance of this material shall not be liable in any way for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, punitive or exemplary damages, including on account of lost profits arising from the information contained in this material. Recipient alone shall be fully responsible for any decision taken on the basis of this document.
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While utmost care has been taken in translating the article into respective regional language(s), in case of any confusion or difference of opinion, article available in English language should be deemed as final. The article provided herein is meant only for general reading purposes and the views being expressed only constitute opinions and therefore cannot be considered as guidelines, recommendations or as a professional advice for the readers. The document has been prepared on the basis of publicly available data/ information, internally developed data and other sources believed to be reliable. The sponsor, the Investment Manager, the Trustee or any of their directors, employees, associates or representatives (“entities & their associates”) do not assume any responsibility for, or warrant the accuracy, completeness, adequacy and reliability of such information. Recipients of this information are advised to rely on their own analysis, interpretations & investigations. Readers are also advised to seek independent professional advice in order to arrive at an informed investment decision. Entities & their associates including persons involved in the preparation or issuance of this material shall not be liable in any way for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, punitive or exemplary damages, including on account of loss of profits arising from the information contained in this material. Recipient alone shall be fully responsible for any decision taken on the basis of this article.
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