Retirement Planning Made Simple (2025): Calculate Your Retirement Corpus & Monthly Investment
A step-by-step retirement planning guide: estimate expenses, adjust for inflation, calculate retirement corpus, and build a simple SIP-based investment plan. Updated for 2025.
Retirement planning, made simple
Retirement planning is about ensuring you can maintain your lifestyle when you stop working. The core steps are: estimate retirement expenses, adjust for inflation, decide a target retirement corpus, and invest consistently.
This guide is action-first. You’ll learn how to calculate your retirement number, how much to invest monthly, and how to avoid common mistakes that cause people to fall short.
1) Decide Your Retirement Age and Lifestyle
Start with two decisions:
- When you want to retire (e.g., 55, 60, 65)
- How you want to live (basic, comfortable, travel-heavy, etc.)
Your retirement number is highly lifestyle-dependent. Someone with a paid-off home needs a different corpus than someone renting.
2) Estimate Monthly Retirement Expenses
Common expense buckets
- • Housing (maintenance / rent)
- • Food & utilities
- • Healthcare
- • Transport
- • Family support + lifestyle + travel
A practical approach
Use your current monthly spend as a base, then adjust up/down based on how you expect life to change in retirement. Healthcare often increases with age, even if other costs reduce.
Tip
Don’t underestimate healthcare. Even with insurance, deductibles, co-pays, and uncovered expenses can be meaningful.
3) Adjust for Inflation (The Silent Risk)
Inflation increases the cost of living over time. If you need ₹50,000 per month today, you may need significantly more in 15–25 years.
Common mistake
Many plans fail because they assume today’s expenses will stay the same in retirement. Always adjust for inflation.
4) Calculate Your Retirement Corpus (The “Number”)
Your retirement corpus depends on:
- Monthly retirement expenses (inflation-adjusted)
- Expected return during retirement
- Life expectancy / retirement duration
Use the calculator to estimate your corpus and monthly investment.
Retirement Planning Calculator →5) Build the Plan: Investing Strategy (Simple)
Accumulation phase (before retirement)
- • Invest regularly (SIP) for discipline
- • Use diversified funds to reduce concentration risk
- • Increase contributions as income grows (step-up SIP)
Protection phase (risk management)
- • Maintain an emergency fund
- • Keep health insurance active (retirement medical risk)
- • Reduce high-interest debt early
FAQs
How much should I invest monthly for retirement?
It depends on your retirement age, target lifestyle, and expected returns. Use the retirement calculator to get a personalized estimate based on your inputs.
Is SIP enough for retirement planning?
SIP is a method (regular investing), not a product. It can be part of a retirement plan when combined with a goal-based asset allocation, risk control, and regular reviews.
What’s the biggest mistake in retirement planning?
Underestimating inflation and delaying investing. Starting early and increasing contributions gradually often has the biggest impact.
Next Steps
- Estimate retirement expenses and inflation-adjust them
- Use the calculator to find your retirement corpus target
- Start/step-up SIP and review yearly