How much corpus do I need to retire at 45 in India?

Rough thumb: 30–35x your annual expenses at retirement, adjusted for inflation between now and then. Someone spending ₹80,000/mo today retiring at 45 with 6% inflation will need roughly ₹1.5–2 Cr in today's rupees, which becomes much larger in nominal terms. Use the planner for a personalised number.

Is 12% SIP return realistic for retirement planning in India?

Long-run equity index returns in India have been in the 11–13% CAGR range, but there are decade-long spans with lower averages. Plan for 10–11% pre-tax as a conservative default, and stress-test with an 8% figure to see how fragile your plan is.

How to plan early retirement in India

Early retirement — call it FIRE, call it "just being done with the corporate churn" — is a math problem before it is a life problem. Get the numbers roughly right and the rest is discipline. Here's how to reason about it, specific to Indian salaried households.

1. Size your corpus in today's rupees, then inflate it

A ₹80,000/month lifestyle today becomes ₹2.5 lakh/month in 20 years at 6% inflation. Don't confuse the "how much do I need" number with today's rupees — always work in nominal rupees at the target retirement date. The planner does this for you.

2. Corpus = present value of a growing annuity

You want the corpus at retirement to be able to fund monthly withdrawals for 30–40 years, with the withdrawals themselves growing with inflation, and the residual corpus earning a post-retirement return. This is a "growing annuity present value" calculation — not a simple 25x rule. The 25x rule assumes 4% withdrawal and 30-year horizon; in Indian conditions with 6% inflation, you often need 28–35x.

3. Loans complicate the picture

Most Indian households retiring early carry a home loan and often an OD/flexi facility or personal loan. Two things matter:

Compare after-tax rates. A home loan at 8.5% with the interest deduction gone (new tax regime) is genuinely 8.5%. An equity SIP at 12% pre-tax and 10.4% after LTCG is a ~2% edge — not free money.
OD loans blur the line. Money parked in an OD account reduces interest immediately without locking it up. This often beats "prepay vs invest" as a false dichotomy.

4. Three strategies to compare

Pay off debt first. Maximum surplus to loans until debt-free, then aggressive SIP. Lowest interest cost, latest corpus start.
Invest alongside minimum EMI. SIP starts immediately; loan runs its full tenure. Highest interest paid, longest compounding runway.
Close loans from corpus at retirement. Minimum EMIs through career, then a one-time lump-sum close from corpus at retirement. Simplifies life; often close to optimal.

In our planner you can toggle between all three and see the final corpus for each. There is no universally correct answer — it depends on your loan rate, your risk tolerance, and whether the emotional weight of a home loan is worth paying a premium to remove.

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