How much is enough
Retirement is the one goal that is certain, very large and very far away. That combination makes it easy to underestimate.
Start from expenses, not income
What matters is what you'll spend, not what you earn. Take your monthly expenses today, remove what will end (EMIs, children's fees) and add what will grow (healthcare, travel). Then inflate that number to your retirement year.
₹50,000 a month today, at 6% inflation, is about ₹2.9 lakh a month in 30 years. That's the income your corpus must replace, every month, for perhaps 25 years or more.
- 1
Expenses today
₹50,000 a month, excluding costs that will end.
- 2
At retirement
Inflated at 6% for 30 years: about ₹2.87 lakh a month.
- 3
Corpus
25–33× the annual figure, or use the retirement calculator.
The corpus multiple
A quick rule: you need 25 to 33 times your annual expenses in the year you retire. The lower multiple assumes a 4% sustainable withdrawal; the higher, a more cautious 3%. India's higher inflation argues for the cautious end.
The retirement calculator refines this, using separate returns before and after retirement and a retirement that runs to your life expectancy.
Time is the lever
Because the target is so far away, compounding does most of the work if you start early. Someone starting at 25 might need to invest 12 to 15% of income; someone starting at 40 may need 30% or more for the same retirement.
Key takeaways
- 1Plan from future expenses, inflated to retirement.
- 2Target 25–33× annual expenses at retirement.
- 3Starting early cuts the monthly effort dramatically.
Try it with your own numbers
Finish this lesson
Reaching the end marks it complete. You can also mark it yourself.
Educational content, not investment advice. Figures are illustrative.