I am 49. I work in a contract job. I have twins who are doing their masters in management. I live alone in Hyderabad. Since they wish to settle down in Mumbai, I plan to resign my job and move to Chennai. My monthly requirement would be ₹18,000, including rent. How much should I keep aside to sustain me till 85, without depending on my children?

Balkishan

When one’s retirement phase is longer than the working life, it is a challenge meeting monthly expenses for one’s lifetime. You are not alone as several surveys have found that Indian parents pay more attention to children’s education than their retirement. If you retire today, to meet your monthly needs till 85 you need a corpus of ₹65 lakh and it should earn inflation adjusted return of 1 per cent. If you leave out your wife’s jewellery, you can raise liquid cash of ₹23 lakh. You will have a shortfall of ₹42 lakh. If you deploy the funds in fixed deposits and earn 8 per cent return, you will get ₹15,300 monthly against your requirement of ₹18,000.

Since you don’t own a house your rental outgo itself will consume 40 per cent of your monthly needs. As inflation increases, the shortfall will balloon over the years. Do work as long as you feel comfortable to meet at least your monthly needs. This will help you create wealth to meet your needs in future.

After retirement you could live in a retirement home in the city’s outskirts to bring down your cost of living. You will still face a shortfall later on. Since you don’t have a health policy, buy a health cover for ₹5 lakh at the earliest.

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