I am 50 years old and employed in a private sector bank. My monthly take-home salary is Rs 60,000 and after meeting all my expenses, I have a surplus of Rs 35,000. This surplus is inclusive of rental income. My wife is a homemaker, aged 46 . My elder son is employed and my younger son is in the third year of his engineering course and is planning to study further.

My future commitments:

Son's higher education expenses Rs 12 lakh including is present course.

Both their marriages at a present cost of Rs 5 lakh each in 2014 and 2017.

I wish to retire in two years' time. Are my savings adequate? In case of urgent requirements, I can let out the first floor of my self-occupied house for a rent of Rs 10, 000.

I have loan of Rs 5 lakh against property and loans from my employer for Rs 3 lakh.

My investments and savings are

I hold large cap stocks worth Rs 44 lakh in my wife's and my name .

Mutual funds - Rs 3.5 lakh.

Rental income - Rs10, 000 a month.

My PF balance is Rs19 lakh and increases by Rs 4.5 lakh yearly by PF, VPF contributions and interest thereon.

The current value of my ESOP after taxes is Rs 12 lakh.

Savings account balance is Rs 2 lakh.

Pension from insurance plan from 2021 would be Rs 4250 per month for which I am currently paying an annual premium of Rs 9,827.

I have two ULIPs with annual premium outflow of Rs 24,000 and Rs25, 000, each paid for 4 years.

Personal accident insurance policy in my name for Rs 30lakh and additional Rs 30 lakh receivable under Group Insurance scheme of the employer in case of death while in service.

I have invested Rs 40, 000 in infra bonds.

My PPF account balance is Rs 2 lakh and I have been holding this account for 17 years.

Other information:

My family and I are covered up to Rs 4 lakh under Group mediclaim policy . I am a diabetic and also have hypertension. Therefore, post retirement, provision has to be made for my medical expenses.

I expect my life expectancy at 65 years and I expect my wife to outlive me by at least 10 years.

My wife and I actively invest in equities and post-retirement I would be trading on intra-day basis and I shall also explore commodities, futures and options.

Please advise if my present corpus would be sufficient to retire .

— Muralidharan

Generally, risk perception and tolerance vary proportionally to age and financial stability. You may not have time to trade now, but you have financial stability. If any trade goes out of your control, you can manage it with your income or you can borrow to settle the dues.

But upon retirement you will not have this option. We are not recommending moving away from equity completely, but are suggesting a toned-down approach.

Currently you are overweight equity. If you wish to retire immediately, balance your portfolio in favour of debt to have stable income post retirement.

Education : Since your younger son's education is a short term goal, dilute your ESOPs . Your ESOPs have already appreciated by more than 60 per cent in the past few months and accounts for more than 20 per cent of your portfolio. Bring down the exposure to five per cent . For the short fall, book profits in the equity portfolio on rallies and shift proceeds to debt.

For your elder son's marriage invest in a balanced fund such as HDFC Prudence, monthly, a sum of Rs 14,870 for the next three years and it should earn a return of nine per cent .

For your younger son's marriage invest in a pure equity scheme, a sum of Rs 8, 600 each for the next 60 months and it should earn a return of 12 per cent.

Retirement : Although you anticipate life expectancy of 65, it is better to anticipate increased longevity . For calculation, we have assumed your life expectancy as 70 years and 80 for your spouse .If you wish to retire immediately, you should have a corpus of Rs 84 lakh and it should earn a return of one per cent over and above inflation. Do invest the surplus of the earlier years of your retirement to meet any subsequent shortfall. Your investment in direct equity, mutual funds, PF and PPF and diluted ESOP will total to Rs 79 lakh. The Shortfall of a few lakh will be offset by your rental income.

You can trade in equity post retirement, but earmark not more than 5-10 per cent of the assets for trading in equity. Avoid trading in futures and options as well as commodities, as these are highly risky bets, not suitable for you.

Medical insurance : Since you are having pre-existing ailments, its better to take medical cover for Rs 5 lakh.There are insurers that offer a cover for pre-existing illness after a gap of four years. So, it is better to protect your retirement corpus with health policy. For your wife taking separate cover along with your son for Rs 4 lakh.

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