How much do I need to retire in 2025?

We determine the corpus needed for a 50-year-old to retire immediately if monthly expenses are Rs. 1,00,000?” Let us compute this using the freefincal robo advisor tool. This provides an accurate estimate compared to approximate calculations using spreadsheet formulae. The robo tool can also include three post-retirement income streams.  It also offers suggestions on how…

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Ignore the 4% withdrawal rule for retirement planning and do this instead

The 4% withdrawal rule for retirement planning assumes excessive equity allocation (50-75%), which makes it impractical. To make this worse, the 4% rule is often misunderstood and misapplied, so it is not a useful tool for retirement planning for most people. Here is an alternative idea. What is a safe withdrawal rate?  The safe withdrawal…

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Equity Glide Paths for Retirement Buckets: Freefincal Robo Advisor Update

The freefincal robo-advisor tool will now feature equity glide paths for retirement buckets, providing enhanced risk management. We also have an updated video user guide. The updated version has already been sent to all existing users. Those who did not receive the notification can contact us. Those unfamiliar with the tool’s features can refer to…

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Can I use a simple equity + debt portfolio instead of multiple retirement buckets?

A reader asks, “Can I use a simple equity + debt portfolio instead of multiple retirement buckets? Won’t this be easier to manage?” When I was younger, I would have agreed with the reader. Age and experience change perspective. See: I thought a pension was unnecessary, but age taught me a lesson on retirement planning!…

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Auditing my retirement portfolio for Mint Newspapers Guru Portfolio

Mint Newspaper, led by Neil Borate, does a fabulous job reporting and educating about personal finance and investing. In March 2024, Mint featured my retirement portfolio: You only need a fund where returns remain consistent: Freefincal’s Pattabiraman. In June 2025, they published an update on the portfolio: Why Freefincal’s Pattabiraman doesn’t believe in beating the…

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