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Disclaimer – a version of this article was first published in www.moneycontrol.com on the 11^th of June 2026. (https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/get-your-enough-a-guide-to-retirement-planning-13946866.html)

The retirement conversation is usually a part of most personal finance discussions, even if in social gatherings. Most individuals are in a hurry to know how much will be enough to lead a comfortable life in their retirement years. The uncertainty in macroeconomic stability, jobs, salaries and cost of living has made this more pertinent than before. Recently, the founder of a domestic wealth management firm, in a published podcast interview put that number at Rs 40 crore for someone with monthly expenses of Rs 1–2 lakh at present.

That number is mind-boggling and enough to make you fearful about your retirement dream.

But the truth is that ‘enough’ is not one specific number. The discount rate, the inflationInflation is a common term thrown around in economics lessons and by politicians around election time. What it means in simple language is that prices of things you buy, stuff, keeps increasing every year. It happens because the economy in... More assumption and asset price cycle risk are probably going to look similar for you and your neighbour. However, variables such as lifestyle expenses, the desired pace of life at retirement, your purpose in life, hobbies and social needs will be unique to each individual or couple.

Figuring out how much is “enough” is an exercise you will have to undertake without taking the easy route of a generalised estimate. That being the disclaimer, here is a process to ascertain a ballpark figure that will look closest to ‘enough’.

Step 1

Your retirement math does not begin with asset returns or market trends. It must begin with estimating, with close to 100 percent accuracy, what your current monthly expenses are. It’s a tedious job and typically, those with substantial monthly income, for whom affordability is not a daily challenge, tend to overlook it.

Yet, no matter what your income level, this first step is the most critical and a guaranteed eye-opener. You may be surprised by how much you spend on things you finally don’t use. Or you may find that you are classifying aspirational purchases as needs simply to keep up an identity that helps you fit in with co-workers or neighbours.

Whatever the finding, tracking your monthly expenses is crucial. Once there, strip out those expenses, which will evaporate in retirement; school fees, work commute and the likes. The resulting figure is your starting point.

Inflate it by the long-term average annual inflationInflation is a common term thrown around in economics lessons and by politicians around election time. What it means in simple language is that prices of things you buy, stuff, keeps increasing every year. It happens because the economy in... More — roughly 5–6 percent for the Indian economy — for the number of years remaining till retirement. A Rs 1 lakh monthly expense will look more like Rs 3.2 lakh twenty years later at an inflationInflation is a common term thrown around in economics lessons and by politicians around election time. What it means in simple language is that prices of things you buy, stuff, keeps increasing every year. It happens because the economy in... More of 6 percent a year. Multiply by 12 for the annual figure. Inflated at the same rate across the next 30 years of retirement, the total outflow comes to roughly Rs 30 crore.

Longevity is costly. But not to worry.

A Rs 30 crore corpus is not what you begin with, it’s the total you need.

In this example, the annual expense at retirement is roughly Rs 38.5 lakh; multiply that by 25 and it gives you approximately Rs 10 crore. The Rs 10 crore corpus invested at a moderate return of roughly 7 percent per annum, even after the annual withdrawals inflated at 6 percent a year will last you roughly 30 years (aggregate amount close to the above mentioned total of Rs 30 crore). Thus, a bare basic 30-year retirement corpus is likely to be around 25–30 times, your estimated annual expense at retirement.

If you begin from a position of fuzziness about your current spending, your retirement corpus estimate will be equally blurry.

Step 2

To the base corpus, add the safeguards and the frills. The primary safeguard is medical expenses. There is no way to tell how high these can go, but according to this report (https://www.milliman.com/en/insight/measuring-medical-inflation-in-india) annual medical inflationInflation is a common term thrown around in economics lessons and by politicians around election time. What it means in simple language is that prices of things you buy, stuff, keeps increasing every year. It happens because the economy in... More in India is close to 12-13 percent. Post 60 years of age, this expense can compound without a warning. Coupled with the high inflationInflation is a common term thrown around in economics lessons and by politicians around election time. What it means in simple language is that prices of things you buy, stuff, keeps increasing every year. It happens because the economy in... More, costs can skyrocket.

Medical insurance is essential, but also maintain some dry powder. There is no sure way to quantify how much; setting aside 10 percent of your corpus over and above your medical cover presents a prudent approach.

Then there are the indulgences like travel, gifting, inheritance and so on. This math is diverse for each individual and once again devoid of an objective measure to quantify it. At a minimum, add another 10 percent to your estimated annual expense at retirement.

After these adjustments, a corpus that accounts for both safeguards and indulgences can go up to 30–40 times your base annual expenses. Thus, as per the example above, you need to amass a corpus of roughly Rs 13-15 crore by the time you retire. Is this enough? That depends entirely on how much indulgence you want and how much you want to leave behind.

Step 3

Now work backwards. To build a Rs 10 crore corpus over 20 years, you need to invest Rs 15,000–16,000 every month at an expected annualised return of 10 percent. With 15 years to go, that rises to around Rs 20,000 a month; with just 10 years, closer to Rs 50,000. If your current monthly expenses are closer to Rs 5 lakh, all figures scale by five and your target corpus shifts to roughly Rs 50 crore.

The non-math you cannot visualise

Even if retirement is just 10 years away, the future is often fuzzy. Human behaviour tends to extrapolate the present, but with life’s variables doing that can be grossly inaccurate.

Spreadsheets will help you arrive at a number. Optimising the emotional and functional aspects of retirement is quite another matter. Here are some things you will not be able to visualise today, but which will shape that ‘enough’ number:

• Your ability to curtail lifestyle spends you can no longer afford without a steady income
• Your ability to supplement income with purpose; a strong determinant of longevity
• The equity market trend a year or two before you retire (for extrapolating that inflationInflation is a common term thrown around in economics lessons and by politicians around election time. What it means in simple language is that prices of things you buy, stuff, keeps increasing every year. It happens because the economy in... More beating compoundingCompounding is the concept of earning return on both your principle investment and your profit. It is a way of calculating return that assumes you pull back your return till yesterday and remain invested so that any change in value... More but also to dodge volatility)
• The unlikelihood of spending in your last ten years as much as you did when you began retirement
• Your actual lifespan; one who lives to 80 will need substantially lower amounts than one who lives to 95.
• Your medical condition and costs post 85, which can rise substantially
• Your ability to live independently till the end of life

Retirement is not just math, it’s also about quality of life. And that is not always costly, subject to inflationInflation is a common term thrown around in economics lessons and by politicians around election time. What it means in simple language is that prices of things you buy, stuff, keeps increasing every year. It happens because the economy in... More or even quantifiable. It’s important to do the math, but it’s even more important to do a qualitative assessment of what retirement will feel like.

How much is enough? It’s a question that demands a specific figure, but rarely will any number fit perfectly. Your best bet is to start with the minimum required and build on that.