I have been making retirement calculators for 14 years, which are some lessons I learned. My first calculator was made around 2010 or so. I shared it with PV Subramanyam (Subra of subramoney.com) for feedback. Like everyone else using a retirement calculator for the first time, I, too, was scared to see the corpus I…

A reader says, ” I am a salaried IT professional, but I have only started planning for retirement very late. I am investing very strongly (35% into investment, 30% into EMI), but I fear I might not have a safe retirement – and am too late. I want to keep my expenses the same after…

In response to our article, Ten mistakes to avoid while planning for early retirement, a reader wants to know how he can plan to be productive after retirement. For completion, point 1 from the above article is reproduced here. 1. Have a clear post-retirement engagement plan. Retirement (early or normal) does not mean a complete cessation of…

A reader says. “I live with my mother, and I am 52. However, I have a corpus of only one crore invested in equity. I retired in 2019 as vice president. My monthly expenses are 30k. Is my corpus enough?” This was in response to “How much do I need to retire in 2024?”. Let…

A decade or so ago, when someone wanted regular income, you assumed they were senior citizens or had retired early. That is no longer the case. With many shifting from a salaried existence to freelancing or enterprise, the need for regular income from accumulated wealth as a cushion has become important. Let us discuss the…

A reader says, “I’m 48 years old, unmarried, and the only son of dependent parents. I work in a MNC IT firm and own two houses (in Mumbai and Bengaluru) and a car. I have term and medical insurance for the 3 of us”. “Unfortunately, a big mistake I have made is having very little…

Can we build a well-diversified retirement portfolio – a retirement basket as PV Subramanyam of subramoney.com would say? Such a portfolio should be robust enough to handle all types of expenses in retirement – everday expenses for a comfortable life, discrenationary expenses to splurge a little from time to time, emergencies, both planned and unexpected…

A reader asked, “What is your idea of a comfortable retirement?” A discussion. The answer is subjective and subject to significant change especially if we are far from retirement. Perhaps only those investing for at least a decade will likely ask this question. ‘Comfort’ implies something well above a basic requirement. So let us first…

A reader says, “What is the corpus needed for a 50-year-old to retire immediately if my monthly expenses are Rs. 50,000?” 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…

A reader says,  “I am 47 and have a wife and 15-year-old daughter. I have my own house, and I am paying one lakh emi. The balance loan is 1.4 cr.  I have been considering resigning from my current job and, depending solely on my corpus, investing primarily in FD, mutual funds, and some stocks.”…

A reader asks, “I am 27 years old. My current monthly expenses are about Rs. 30,000. I don’t intend to get married. Can I achieve financial independence at 40 if my net worth today is zero?” Let us determine what the freefincal robo advisor tool coughs up for this scenario. The assumptions and inputs are…

A reader wants to know, “What is the ideal corpus for retirement in India?”. There are two very different aspects to consider here. (1) Retirement Math is universal and independent of geography. Only the inputs would vary. (2) What we define as “ideal” is subjective. Even in 2024, some people compute the retirement corpus necessary…

A reader says, “My PPF has matured. I presently hold about 45 % equity, with the rest in debt, and I am looking to increase my equity exposure as I have about 17 years to retire. I was thinking of withdrawing the ppf, which is currently earning tax-free returns of 7.1% and moving that to…