Every time I talk about retirement planning – on stage, in interviews, etc.- I hear this line: “If we need a few crores* to retire, then most Indians will fall short”. * Sometimes the target corpus is seven crores, sometimes ten crores, sometimes 13-14 crores, depending on the question I am asked.
There is nothing wrong with the math – it is trivial. Just ask your favourite AI model by punching in your numbers, and you will get the harsh truth. What bothers me is the reaction – “most Indians will not retire well “. Not because it is untrue – it is quite true that most Indians will not retire well – because of low salaries, family circumstances, etc.
In fact, most people around the world, even in developed countries, will not retire well. It is not an India-centric problem.
What bothers me is the ease with which many are willing to slot themselves with the unfortunate. I can understand if older people react like that. They cannot turn back the clock. But younger people have time, and almost all my illustrations are for those who are 20, 25, or 30 years away from retirement.
That is a lifetime to sort things out. To work hard and increase income as much as possible. To keep our lifestyle in check so that we can increase investments by at least 5% more each year. If we invest consistently in a portfolio capable of beating inflation (e.g. 50% equity + 50% fixed income) for 15-20 years, we stand a very good chance of growing a healthy corpus.
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This will not come easy. It will take time, effort, sweat, tears and sacrifice. But then again, nothing important is ever acquired easily.
So there is little use in venting your frustration in a YouTube video comment section. The choice is simple. Are you willing to do everything you can to change your station in life, or will you be one of the millions who will not retire well?