I am 55 years old and will retire in 2017. My wife will retire in 2018. Our monthly expenses are Rs 20,000. After paying the EMI and making investments, our surplus is Rs 9,000.

I need Rs 9 lakh for my daughter’s marriage in 2014.

For my son’s higher education in 2017, I need Rs 5 lakh.

I need to create a corpus of Rs 2 lakh for emergency and medical needs.

I have a few life insurance policies and they will mature in four years.

The value is around Rs 6 lakh. My investment in shares is Rs 5 lakh.

I am investing in seven equity fund SIPs of Rs 1,000 each and three Gold ETFs of Rs 2,000 each for my daughter’ marriage. My portfolio’s value is Rs 3 lakh.

My EPF balance is Rs 3 lakh and that of my wife’s is Rs 2 lakh.

I bought a flat for Rs 41 lakh with a home loan of Rs 12 lakh.

The loan is to be repaid in the next five years. I need to spend Rs 3 lakh for the interiors and furniture in 2013.

I am contributing to a pension plan and from 2017 I will get Rs 2,500 a month. I will get a pension of Rs 25,000 from my bank.

Will my present investment enable me to meet my retirement needs?

— Arun Gupta

Avoid taking loans closer to retirement.

For your daughter’s marriage sell all your equity holdings in a good rally and move to debt instruments.

But if you still wish to bet on equity, to meet the marriage shortfall, withdraw from EPF.

For your son’s higher education,take an education loan as there is no other option.

Retirement

Your pension will not be sufficient to meet your monthly income after a few years.

If your monthly expenses of Rs 20,000 are inflated at seven per cent, they will be Rs 28,000 at retirement, but at 70 they will be Rs 55,000.

To meet the requirement, at retirement you should have a lump sum of Rs 22 lakh and it should earn a return of one per cent over and above the inflation to support you till you turn 80. Your EPF and insurance proceeds will be Rs 12 lakh.

Add another Rs 6,000 as SIP to meet the retirement shortfall of Rs 10 lakh.

To create the required corpus your investment should earn 12 per cent return.

Investment strategy

Restrict yourself to two large- and mid-cap funds each. Shift your investments to debt once you reach your target. Stick to a single Gold ETF.

Medical insurance

Post retirement, take medical insurance for Rs 5 lakh.

(The author is CEO, myassetsconsolidation.com)

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