Child Education Goal SIP: Is ₹20,000 SIP Sufficient? Let’s Check Using a SIP Calculator

Bringing a baby into the world is a beautiful milestone, but it also quietly turns your calendar into a long-term planner. One of the biggest future goals many parents think about is building a corpus for their child’s higher education. 

Education Inflation and Higher Education Costs After 18 Years 

Education inflation is real, and it often rises faster than general inflation. The cost of higher education can increase due to tuition fees, living expenses, technology driven learning costs, and competition for quality institutions. 

After 18 to 20 years, the corpus required for higher education can easily be around ₹80 lakh to ₹1 crore or more, depending on factors like: 

• Course type such as engineering, medicine, management, or specialised programmes
• Location such as studying in India or abroad
• College category such as private, government, or international universities
• Living and travel costs, especially for metro cities or overseas education 

This is why early estimation using a SIP calculator becomes helpful for planning. 

Example: SIP of ₹20,000 Per Month for 18 Years at 12% CAGR 

Let us use the exact inputs shared: 

Monthly SIP: ₹20,000 

Tenure: 18 years 

Expected returns: 12% CAGR 

Here is what the corpus looks like after 18 years for your child’s higher education: 

Total value after 18 years: ₹1,53,08,785 

Invested amount: ₹43,20,000 

Estimated returns: ₹1,09,88,785 

This example highlights a key point: over long periods, the returns component can become significantly larger than the invested amount, mainly because compounding has more time to work. 

Read More: How To Build A ₹5 Crore Corpus with A SIP By Age 55 If You Are in Your Mid 20s 

What Can Change the Final Corpus in Real Life 

While SIP calculators are useful, actual outcomes can vary due to multiple moving parts. Some key factors are: 

Return variability: 12% CAGR is an assumption, actual returns may be higher or lower 

Market cycles: returns are not linear, some years can be volatile 

Missed instalments: irregular investing can impact the final number 

Step up contributions: increasing SIP over time can change outcomes 

Goal cost inflation: higher education costs may rise faster than expected 

So, the SIP calculator result should be treated as an estimate for planning, not a guaranteed outcome. 

Conclusion 

A Child Education Goal SIP is a structured way to estimate and plan for a major future expense like higher education. In this example, a ₹20,000 monthly SIP for 18 years at 12% CAGR shows a projected corpus of ₹1,53,08,785, with ₹43,20,000 invested and ₹1,09,88,785 as estimated returns.  

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities or companies mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. This does not constitute a personal recommendation or investment advice. It does not aim to influence any individual or entity to make investment decisions. Recipients should conduct their own research and assessments to form an independent opinion about investment decisions. 

Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.