Best Retirement Mutual Funds
Retirement funds are solution-oriented schemes with a five-year lock-in (or until retirement age), mixing equity and debt to build a retirement corpus.
Top retirement mutual funds by 3Y returns
20Direct plan, Growth option — ranked by 3-year CAGR. Open a fund for NAV history, rolling returns, risk metrics and peer rank.
As of 05 Oct 2026, ICICI Prudential Retirement Fund Pure Equity (Direct plan, Growth option) leads retirement mutual funds on 3-year CAGR at +19.01%, followed by ICICI Prudential Retirement Fund Hybrid Aggressive at +16.90% and Aditya Birla Sun Life Retirement Fund-The 30s at +15.45%. Across 29 retirement mutual funds the category averaged +9.31% over three years, at an average expense ratio of 1.12%. All figures are computed from public AMFI NAV history and recomputed daily; past returns do not predict future ones.
| 1 | ICICI Prudential Retirement Fund Pure Equity ICICI Prudential | ★★★★★ | +3.6% | +19.0% | +17.7% | 0.88% | ₹1,884Cr |
| 2 | ICICI Prudential Retirement Fund Hybrid Aggressive ICICI Prudential | ★★★★★ | +3.7% | +16.9% | +14.1% | 1.21% | ₹1,173Cr |
| 3 | Aditya Birla Sun Life Retirement Fund-The 30s Aditya Birla Sun Life | ★★★☆☆ | +11.1% | +15.4% | +11.4% | 1.35% | ₹434.17Cr |
| 4 | Union Retirement Fund Union | ★★★★☆ | +1.8% | +11.9% | — | 1.36% | ₹197.16Cr |
| 5 | Tata Retirement Savings Fund-Progressive Tata | ★★★★☆ | +3.0% | +11.7% | +9.4% | 0.82% | ₹2,087Cr |
| 6 | Tata Retirement Savings Fund-Moderate Tata | ★★★★★ | +3.1% | +11.2% | +9.4% | 0.83% | ₹2,112Cr |
| 7 | Axis Retirement Fund - Dynamic Axis | ★★★☆☆ | -2.8% | +10.9% | +7.2% | 1.34% | ₹280.84Cr |
| 8 | Axis Retirement Fund - Aggressive Axis | ★★★☆☆ | -2.8% | +10.0% | +6.1% | 1.26% | ₹696.45Cr |
| 9 | Aditya Birla Sun Life Retirement Fund-The 40s Aditya Birla Sun Life | ★★★☆☆ | 0.0% | +9.9% | +8.3% | 1.18% | ₹109.63Cr |
| 10 | Nippon India Retirement Fund- Wealth Creation Scheme Nippon India | ★★☆☆☆ | -4.7% | +9.6% | +9.5% | 1.26% | ₹3,037Cr |
| 11 | ICICI Prudential Retirement Fund Hybrid ConservativeSmall fund ICICI Prudential | ★★★★☆ | +3.9% | +9.5% | +8.4% | 1.03% | ₹91.73Cr |
| 12 | SBI Retirement Benefit Fund - Aggressive Hybrid SBI | ★★★★☆ | +0.6% | +8.8% | +10.1% | 1.18% | ₹1,564Cr |
| 13 | Bandhan Retirement Fund Bandhan | ★★★★☆ | -2.3% | +8.5% | — | 1.03% | ₹181.34Cr |
| 14 | HDFC Retirement Fund - Equity HDFC | ★★★★☆ | -7.4% | +8.4% | +10.9% | 0.92% | — |
| 15 | UTI Retirement Fund UTI | ★★★☆☆ | +0.2% | +8.3% | +8.3% | 1.16% | ₹4,629Cr |
| 16 | SBI Retirement Benefit Fund - Aggressive SBI | ★★★☆☆ | -1.8% | +7.9% | +10.1% | 1.13% | ₹2,988Cr |
| 17 | Aditya Birla Sun Life Retirement Fund-The 50sSmall fund Aditya Birla Sun Life | ★★★☆☆ | +3.3% | +7.6% | +6.8% | 0.63% | ₹25.67Cr |
| 18 | Tata Retirement Savings Fund-Conservative Tata | ★★★☆☆ | +2.9% | +7.4% | +6.3% | 1.04% | ₹164.74Cr |
| 19 | Franklin India Retirement Fund Franklin Templeton | ★★☆☆☆ | -1.4% | +7.2% | +6.8% | 1.52% | ₹494.62Cr |
| 20 | Axis Retirement Fund - ConservativeSmall fund Axis | ★☆☆☆☆ | -1.8% | +6.8% | +5.6% | 1.27% | ₹47.65Cr |
NAV data as of 05 Oct 2026. Returns are CAGR for periods ≥1 year, computed from AMFI NAV history. Ratings are WealthTicker’s own, ranked within sub-category peers — not a SEBI or agency rating. See our methodology for every formula. This is data, not investment advice.
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Frequently asked questions
What are retirement mutual funds?
Retirement funds are solution-oriented schemes with a five-year lock-in (or until retirement age), mixing equity and debt to build a retirement corpus.
Which is the best retirement fund right now?
ICICI Prudential Retirement Fund Pure Equity by ICICI Prudential currently ranks first among retirement mutual funds by 3-year CAGR at +19.01%. Rankings move with NAVs — past returns don't guarantee future performance.
What returns have retirement mutual funds given?
The category has averaged +0.55% over 1 year, +9.31% annualized over 3 years, +8.50% annualized over 5 years — peer averages over the live funds in the category, computed from AMFI NAV history.
How are retirement mutual funds taxed?
It depends on what the individual scheme holds, not on the category. A scheme holding more than 65% in Indian equity is taxed as equity (20% short-term, 12.5% long-term above ₹1.25 lakh a year); one holding more than 65% in debt is taxed at your slab rate whatever the holding period; anything in between is taxed at slab within 24 months and 12.5% after. Each fund's page states which rule applies to it.