Three things about the lever nobody talks up.
01
The lever in your hand beats the one on the screen. You cannot make the market pay two more points. You can raise the SIP when the salary rises. One is a wish, the other is a standing instruction.
02
Be honest, the step-up costs more, 118 lakh in against 30. But it tracks your raises, so it is the same slice of a bigger pay cheque. To match it with a flat SIP you would have to start at Rs 22500 a month from day one, money a 25-year-old rarely has.
03
Early step-ups do the heavy lifting. A top-up in year 3 compounds for 22 years. One in year 20 barely moves the needle. Switch the increase on young, then leave it running.
Everyone shops for a fund that does 14 instead of 12. The bigger number was hiding in the box marked increase SIP by 10 percent, the one only you can tick.