How Much to Invest in POMIS to Get ₹10,000 Per Month?

Want a steady 10,000 rupees landing in your account every month without watching the stock market? The Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS) is one of the oldest government savings schemes in India built for exactly that. Let us look at the exact math, the rules, and what it really takes to hit that monthly payout.

The simple math behind 10,000 rupees a month

POMIS pays a fixed annual interest rate, paid out monthly. As of 2025, the rate is 7.4 percent per year. The formula is straight-forward.

Monthly income = (Deposit amount x 7.4 percent) divided by 12

To get 10,000 rupees a month, you need 1,20,000 rupees a year in interest. Work it backwards.

Deposit needed = 1,20,000 divided by 0.074 = 16,21,621 rupees (round it to about 16.22 lakh).

That is the deposit that produces a clean 10,000 rupees of monthly cash flow at the current rate. If the rate changes in the future, the math shifts. A drop to 7.0 percent would push the required deposit to about 17.14 lakh. A jump to 8.0 percent would lower it to 15 lakh flat. Always recheck the rate quoted on the day you open the account.

Why this matters before you commit

16.22 lakh is not pocket change. Before you lock it in, you should know two hard rules of POMIS.

• Single account limit: 9 lakh rupees maximum.
• Joint account limit: 15 lakh rupees maximum (held by 2 or 3 adults).
• Minimum deposit: 1,000 rupees, in multiples of 1,000 thereafter.
• Eligibility: any Indian resident adult; minors above 10 can also open accounts.

Notice the gap. Even a joint account caps at 15 lakh, and you need 16.22 lakh. So a single POMIS account alone cannot give you 10,000 rupees a month at today's rate. You need a workaround. We will get to that in a moment.

Quick projection table

Here is what different deposits produce at 7.4 percent.

The 9 lakh single-account ceiling gets you only 5,550 rupees a month. The 15 lakh joint ceiling gets you 9,250. Close, but not quite ten.

The solution: combine accounts smartly

Since you cannot put 16.22 lakh in one account, you split it across the family. Each adult can hold a single account up to 9 lakh, and joint accounts have their own 15 lakh cap (with the share split equally for limit purposes).

A clean way for a couple to cross 16 lakh:

1. Open one joint account in both names: 15 lakh rupees.
2. Open one single account in the spouse's name: 1.22 lakh rupees.
3. Total deposit: 16.22 lakh. Total monthly payout: about 10,000 rupees.

This stays inside POMIS rules and gives you the target income. You can also bring in a parent as a third joint holder if your family wants to scale further. The Department of Posts updates account limits and rates from time to time, so always confirm the current rules at indiapost.gov.in before you deposit.

Tenure, payout and exit rules

POMIS runs for a fixed 5-year lock-in. The interest credits to your linked savings account every month, on the same date the account was opened. You can also auto-sweep it into a Recurring Deposit if you want compounding instead of cash flow. The account can be opened at any post office branch with simple KYC: a PAN card, an Aadhaar, two photos, and the deposit cheque.

Premature withdrawal

• Before 1 year: not allowed.
• 1 to 3 years: 2 percent of the deposit is deducted as penalty.
• 3 to 5 years: 1 percent of the deposit is deducted.

So treat the 16 lakh as money you do not need for the next 5 years. POMIS is one of the more rigid government savings schemes in India for early exit.

Tax treatment

The monthly interest is fully taxable in your hands at your slab rate. POMIS gets no Section 80C deduction either, unlike PPF or NSC. Plan your tax accordingly. If you are in the 30 percent slab, the real post-tax payout from a 10,000 rupee monthly cheque is closer to 7,000. There is no TDS at the post office, so you must declare the interest yourself in your annual return.

Example: Meena's retirement plan

Case: Meena, age 60, has 18 lakh from her PF. She wants safe monthly income.

She opens a joint POMIS account with her husband for 15 lakh, and a single account in her name for 1.22 lakh. Total deposit: 16.22 lakh. Monthly payout: 10,000 rupees, paid every month for 5 years.

The remaining 1.78 lakh she keeps in a Senior Citizen Savings Scheme for higher returns. She now has predictable cash flow without market risk.

Is POMIS the right tool for your goal?

POMIS is brilliant for one job: guaranteed monthly cash flow with capital safety. Government-backed, no NAV swings, no surprises. Think of it like a salary your money pays you. The cheque does not care what the Sensex did this week.

It is not great when you want growth, tax savings, or beat-inflation returns. The 7.4 percent payout sounds good, but inflation eats into it, and tax eats more. For a retiree or anyone needing predictable income to cover bills, that trade is fair. For a 30-year-old building wealth, it is the wrong tool. Match the product to the goal: POMIS for cash flow, equity for growth, PPF for tax-free compounding, and an emergency fund in a sweep-FD.

Key takeaway

To get 10,000 rupees per month from POMIS at the current 7.4 percent rate, you need to deposit 16,21,621 rupees. Since one account caps at 9 lakh and a joint at 15 lakh, you will split the amount across a joint account and a second single account in a family member's name. Lock-in is 5 years, interest is taxable, and the monthly cheque is as predictable as it gets.