This article explains how a retirement bucket strategy can be combined with an income ladder in various ways. The goal is to reduce the management risks associated with a bucket strategy. In an income ladder, we use fixed-income instruments that mature periodically in future, providing income to the retiree. Let us consider an example. Suppose…

A reader inquires, “As I approach my 50th birthday this year, I’m contemplating retirement. What steps should I take to determine the necessary retirement corpus for 2023? My yearly expenses amount to approximately Rs. 6.5 lakhs.” As mentioned in a recent article – I thought a pension was unnecessary, but age taught me a retirement planning…

Last year, while preparing a retirement planning illustration based on laddered annuities, we listed the annuity rates of LIC Jeevan Akshay – an immediate annuity plan. These are the revised and higher annuity rates applicable from Feb 28th 2023. Additional resources Use this annuity ladder calculator to plan for retirement with multiple pension streams How…

A reader says, “In many personal finance forums, I see comments like I have accumulated 25X or 30X for retirement. Many claim that 30X is when one becomes financially independent and even ready for early retirement (FIRE). Can you please write an article explaining what this 30X refers to and how it signifies financial independence?” What is…

A reader says, “I am a regular reader of freefincal. I am wondering whether I will be able to be financially independent in the next 20 years. My Background: I am 34 years old and working for an MNC. My wife is a homemaker; she is 31 years old. We have a three-year-old daughter”. Expense…

One quesion many readers ask is, if I already have a pension, how should I plan for retirement? A user of our robo advisory tool writes, “I am studying and trying to understand the robo advisory tool. In the income flooring sheet, annuity laddering and DIY Bucket, I found that annuity is needed to be purchased”….

With the deadline to opt for a higher EPS pension shifted to June 26, 2023, subscribers have some time to evaluate the decision. A reader with 15 years of service in a PSU wants to know if an EPS pension will benefit him. He estimates that he has to shift about 13.5 lakhs from EPF…

A reader says, “You mention in multiple articles such as – How much equity should I hold after retirement? – An equity allocation of not more than 30% for typical retirements is recommended.” “Can you write/update an article explaining if/how this 30% number would change based on someone’s current corpus (as a multiple of annual…

A reader says, ” Thank you for the Robo Advisory Tool. It has given me insight into my retirement plans. A query: As we can recall, monthly expenses during the year 2002 were approximately Rs.10,000/- p.m. In 2022, our expenses escalated to Rs.1,00,000/- p.m. (in 20 years)”. “The Retirement Corpus calculated in the year 2002…

A reader says, “I’m 57 and on the verge of retirement and in IT, can I opt for a higher EPS pension?” As regular readers may be aware, we have discussed this topic at some length: Higher EPS Pension: Should those who retired recently or are about to retire opt for it? Can I opt…

Many organisations part of the EPFO are abuzz with discussions and calculations on higher EPS pensions following the Supreme Court’s verdict. Many have even provided deadlines to employees currently in service to opt for a higher EPS pension by transferring a significant portion of their EPF corpus to the EPS. However, at the time of…