Retirement

How much money do you need to retire in India?

Updated October 2026 · 5 min read

If your family spends ₹50,000 a month today and you retire in 25 years, you will need a retirement fund of roughly ₹5.5 crore. A SIP of about ₹29,000 a month at 12% can build it, or you can start at about ₹12,900 and raise the SIP by 10% every year.

The assumptions behind this example

• You are 35 and plan to retire at 60.
• Your expenses today are ₹50,000 a month.
• Prices rise 6% a year, before and after retirement.
• Your money earns 7.5% a year after retirement, in a mix of safe and growth investments.
• The money needs to last 25 years, until age 85.

Step 1: Your expenses at retirement

At 6% inflation, ₹50,000 a month today becomes about ₹2.15 lakh a month in 25 years, or ₹25.75 lakh a year. That's what the same lifestyle will cost when you retire.

Step 2: The fund you need

To pay ₹25.75 lakh in the first year of retirement, with the amount rising 6% every year for 25 years, while the remaining money earns 7.5%, you need about ₹5.47 crore on the day you retire.

If your expenses today are ₹30,000 a month, the same calculation gives about ₹3.3 crore.

Step 3: The SIP that builds ₹5.5 crore (at 12%)

Every 5 years of delay roughly doubles the SIP you need. Starting at 30 instead of 40 is the single biggest thing you can do for retirement.

Count what you already have

• Your EPF balance and future EPF contributions.
• PPF, NPS and any existing mutual funds.
• Rental income, if you own a second property.

Subtract the future value of these from ₹5.5 crore, and the SIP you need gets smaller.

Keep it realistic

These numbers depend on assumptions about returns and inflation that can turn out differently. Recalculate every few years, raise your SIP when your income grows, and keep health insurance in place, because medical costs are the biggest risk to retirement savings.